As for the development of the route, several people from the North American Gang said that they could take it over, but a field trip was still an essential step. Both catamarans can maintain an average speed of more than 15 knots, and it will not take more than a few days to run a trip to Hongji Port. Being able to go to sea for a long distance after a few months of holding back, I think Tom Wang, who was in Victory Harbor, must be very happy when he learns the news.

Of course, the planned route was not just about the route, but also about the crew's need to record the hydrological conditions along the way and find safe and reliable coastal stops according to the route. The most important thing is to inspect the two fixed docking points of Fushuizhou Island and Hongji Port, calculate the materials and manpower required for construction, and then formulate a detailed development plan.

However, the temporary transfer of these people from the North American Gang will inevitably affect the progress of the relevant projects at hand. For example, although there are still several people who have studied chemical engineering in the chemical department, which is already carrying out the trial production of three acids and two alkalis, the transfer of Qiao Zhiya will still have a relatively big impact. And Roger and Shi Diwen are now experts in machining, in the case that the machine has not yet been installed in place, many metal parts with high precision requirements must be made by skilled workers like them in a purely manual way, this trip to the public is likely to make the executive committee have to order the machining sequence to temporarily stop work for a few days.

Another time-consuming part of the preparation was, of course, buying ships and recruiting sailors. The next day, the Executive Committee contacted the Yazhou Office and asked them to initiate relations in Yazhou and think of completing these two tasks. Speaking of which, the Cliff Office is now the only window to the outside of the group, and the Executive Committee is trying to get enough ships and people in a short period of time, so it must depend on the ability of the Cliff Office.

There is a good news from the side of the Cliff Office that was immediately fed back to the Executive Committee after the previous transaction with the two commercial banks, a batch of goods and cash will be sent to Shengli Port today, and the treasurers of the two commercial banks will personally escort the goods to this trip, and the Executive Committee can directly contact them at that time to discuss the purchase of ships. The roots of these two commercial houses are one in the capital city of Qiongzhou and the other in Guangzhou, which are much more prosperous places than Yazhou, whether you want to buy a ship or hire sailors, it is much easier than Yazhou.

This news made the executive committee attach great importance to it, and Tao Donglai and Schneider immediately put down their affairs and rushed to Shengli Port to make some preparations for this meeting. The security company and the new barracks stationed on the east bank of Shengli Harbor were also mobilized, and they will be responsible for maintaining law and order in Shengli Harbor during these two days. The hard labor in the labor camp that had been building the wharf in the harbor was also temporarily transferred and sent to the sandbar on the east coast where the new barracks were located, where the stone walls were built to fortify the harbor. Chef Fan from the cooking class was also temporarily transferred back to Shengli Harbor, and the executive committee appointed him to be responsible for organizing the reception banquet prepared for the guests today.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the "Feisu", which was cruising outside Yulin Point, contacted Shengli Harbor and said that it had found two Chinese-style Fu boats sailing from the southwest sea. More than ten minutes later, the "Feisu" sent a confirmation message, and saw that He Xi from the Yazhou Office was on the deck of one of the ships, which should be the fleet delivered from Yazhou.

Under the guidance of the "Flying Speed", the two ships sailed smoothly into the harbor and docked at the pier, which was already a third of the way completed. Almost all of the people on both ships were first-time visitors, and they were stunned by the row of giant iron ships on the shore. Before they set out, they had heard a little rumor that the Haihan people were said to have crossed the sea in some huge iron ships, and most people originally thought that this was just a ridiculous rumor, but when they saw the real thing, they really felt this great shock. The two shopkeepers, who thought they were well-informed, instantly felt that their past life was simply sitting in a well and watching the sky, and that there were people in the world who could build such a huge iron ship that could float on the sea! From this point of view, there were indeed many skilled craftsmen among the Haihan people, and it was no wonder that they were able to make those exquisite glass products and clear silver mirrors.

The two shopkeepers of the trading house left the ship under the leadership of He Xi, and Tao Donglai and Schneider were already waiting for their arrival on the dock. Seeing that Mr. Shi, who came to Yazhou last time to talk about business, was still standing half a step behind Mr. Tao, he understood that Mr. Tao's status among the Haihan people should be extremely high, and he immediately bowed deeply.

When the shopkeeper saw rows of men in colorful cardigans standing neatly on the dock, he asked Tao Donglai what this meant. Tao Donglai said with a smile: "These are the militia groups we have trained locally, and they are usually responsible for maintaining local law and order and arresting thieves. If a distinguished guest comes to visit today, let them come and maintain order on the dock, so as not to disturb the guest by someone who is ignorant. ”

The shopkeeper Zhang saw that these people were indeed local Ming people, and there were also a lot of Li Miao youths mixed in, all of them with their heads held high, their eyes not squinting, and the queue was as neat as a knife cut, and he couldn't help but praise: "In the past, only the Haihan skilled craftsmen were numerous, good at business, and I never thought that this training was also an expert, as far as the style of this militia is concerned, it is still above the Yazhou garrison." ”

Shopkeeper Li's view of the problem is more in-depth: "During the Jiajing and Wanli periods, the imperial court conscripted the Miao people from Guangxi to join Qiong to defend it, which was for the rebellion of Pinglitong, and the two ethnic groups regarded each other as enemies for decades. It is not easy for your militia to be able to accommodate young people of both ethnic groups at the same time. ”

Tao Donglai said: "The Li and Miao clans used to fight back and forth, but the ultimate goal was actually just to beg for food and fight for their own survival. Now that we Haihan people are here, as long as we do things for us, we will be able to have food, clothing, housing, and salaries, and if we are sick, we will be able to take care of the doctors and bury them, and if we have children, we can send them to our school to read and write for free.

Shopkeeper Li was stunned and said: "How can the militia be treated like this? I am afraid that the cost of raising a militia is only a lot better than that of the Yazhou garrison!"

Tao Donglai just smiled and did not respond to Shopkeeper Li's question. The cost of raising a professional army is indeed very high, because these hundred or so people can hardly create any value, but spend a lot on them every day. If compared with those guards in Yazhou, then the treatment of this Haihan militia is simply heaven. However, Tao Donglai did not intend to reveal too much information about this team to outsiders, and at any time in any country, the maintenance cost of an army must be a military secret, and the militia formed by the Executive Committee will naturally be no exception.

The goods and cash on the ship were counted and unloaded by relevant personnel on both sides, and several leading figures came to the No. 1 base under the leadership of Tao Donglai. This is not only a land base camp for the people in Victory Harbor, but also an "image project" that the Executive Committee intends to build to show its strength to the outside world, and guests who come to Victory Harbor for the first time will definitely be brought here for a visit.

The No. 1 base now covers an area of about 40 acres, the shape of the whole base is pentagonal, each corner has a prominent diamond-shaped fortification, and there is a solid stone bunker. These five pillboxes are more than two feet high, and there are several gun holes built on the outward wall for looking and shooting, so that all defensive surfaces can be fired without dead ends.

The wall of the base is about one zhang high, about seven feet thick, and has a circumference of more than one mile. To be able to build such a large project in just over two months, this walled wall is naturally not all made of stone, except for the prismatic blockhouses protruding from the five corners, the walls of other sections are made of wood piling row walls, and the middle is tamped with soil. In recent weeks, the freed up Walkers have built two higher fortifications on the existing wall, allowing one wall to form a three-section defensive position, allowing the defenders with firearms to form a simple three-dimensional fire network. The Military Police Department plans to wait for the production of cement to increase in the future, and then find a way to rebuild a stronger concrete wall.

Beneath the wall, there is also a trench that surrounds the entire Base 1. This miniature moat is about six feet wide and only five feet deep, and it is brought from the upstream to fill the trenches with water from the Tiandu River. There are also two valves in the trench, one above and one below, and the water level in the trench can be adjusted with wooden sluices, mainly to cope with the sudden rise in the water level of the Tiandu River during the rainy season. Although the size of this trench is not large, and its actual protective effect is limited, the Military Police Department believes that no one in the current military forces in the South China Sea has the ability to break through the fire blockade and attack the position of the trench to fill the river.

There is an access road on the north and south sides of Base 1, and the wooden drawbridge, which is up to a foot thick, can be stowed away to strengthen the defense in wartime. The entire No. 1 base looks like a small castle with complete fortifications from the outside, and the next step of the military police department is to even cast a few small cannons and put them in the bunkers on the wall, so as to directly transform these bunkers into more lethal devil turrets.

The two shopkeepers of the trading house were naturally taken aback when they saw this strange looking walled fort, which looked like a donkey rather than a horse. Although they did not understand military affairs at all, and they could not see what kind of power this strange-looking walled wall and stone fortress had, it was not difficult to estimate how much manpower and material resources it would take to build such a walled fort. The six-foot-wide ditch under the wall alone would have required hundreds of men to work for months to complete. Of course, they did not know that the Haihan people had their own opportunistic means, and they used excavators dozens of times more efficient than human labor to build this trench.