Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 428 The Development of Taiwan Prefecture
"Yu Nong, why is it you?"
"Tsk, I'm a captain of the Jinyiwei Taiwan. Isn't it normal for me to appear in this sea area? But you guys disappeared for almost two years without saying goodbye. What's going on? Also, when the group of natives who robbed and killed my Han merchants in the Ming Dynasty just now and were about to be caught up and killed by me paddled past in their sampans, why didn't you help me fire your cannons to stop them?"
"As for us, our mission was top secret when we set out, so we couldn't tell you. But now that we've seen you, we've accomplished 90% of our mission... As for why we didn't help you kill these natives? We've really run out of ammunition and food after holding on until now."
"...I see. It's magnificent. You traveled 30,000 miles to bring back such important strategic materials for the country." At this point, Chen Xiaotian took a step back, straightened his clothes, and bowed deeply to his three classmates and the many seamen behind them: "You all have worked hard. I admire you very much!"
"Hahaha, these words are useless. It will only be useful after a month or two when the six major newspapers report our heroic deeds in full." Zheng Wei twisted Chen Xiaotian's shoulders and said, "Okay, stop talking nonsense. Take us to find a dock to repair the warship, unload some of the living creatures, and replenish food at the same time."
"Oh, OK, come on, pass the order down immediately. All our fleets must return to Taipei Harbor!"
Seeing Chen Xiaotian giving orders, Zheng Wei and the other three all pulled their wildly growing beards and laughed. When Chen Xiaotian turned around and looked at the expressions of the three classmates, he knew what these guys were thinking.
"Why? Are you jealous of my majestic appearance?"
"Yes, yes, Captain Chen has great authority. I am in awe of him."
"Don't be so silly. I don't know what you three guys are thinking. Hey, as a captain of the Imperial Guard, my job is to supervise the local chief officer. I didn't expect that the Taiwan Prefecture is short of manpower everywhere. I, a good military supervisor, actually became the top general under the Taiwan prefect... Oh, I have failed the emperor's trust."
"Why, Sun Chuanting actually dared to suppress you?"
"No, no, although Governor Sun is a bit harsh in his work, he has never suppressed me. It's just that the situation in Taiwan Prefecture is a bit special.
The time when Sun Taishou and I came to Taiwan was almost the same as the time when you set sail. It has been almost two years now. In the past two years, we have walked around Taiwan along the coastline, but we have not really explored the deep mountains in the middle of the island.
At present, there are 33,000 Han Chinese households in the main part of Taiwan Prefecture, that is, Taiwan Island, with a total of 167,000 people. There are more than 20,000 aborigines registered in the yellow book of the prefecture. However, we roughly estimated that there are at least 50,000 to 80,000 aborigines in the mountains in the middle of the island. "
At this point, Chen Xiaotian shook his head helplessly: "These aborigines are divided into many tribes. Some are easy to deal with. They are very disciplined in exchanging mountain products for salt and food from the Han people in the coastal plains. But some tribes are very barbaric and simply take looting as their nature. It happens from time to time that they go down the mountain to rob and kill our Han people in the settlements. And my Taiwan Prefecture's army is composed of 1,000 veterans of the Four Guards of Tengxiang, and there is no capable general to lead them. So..." He spread his hands: "I am the commander of the bandit suppression headquarters."
"Tsk~!" The three of them showed their disgusted faces at the same time: "Look at your boastful look, aren't you just fighting a bunch of barbarians who use slash-and-burn farming to cultivate the land?"
"Hey! That's right. They are indeed a group of barbarians. They are vulnerable to our army in a direct battle. However, you can't beat them because they were born and raised in the mountains. Not to mention, over the past year or so, nearly a hundred of my men have died for their country because of various traps and blowpipes. Moreover, these guys have colluded with some indigenous people on the east coast of the island to form an alliance. As a result, it is now difficult for the Han people on my island to expand their forces to the east side of the island. So you see me working part-time as a naval commander, leading a bunch of sampans to chase another bunch of sampans."
"Chen Yunong, haven't you heard that 'attacking the heart is better than attacking the city?'"
"Hey! Zhang Hong, don't look down on me. We all come from Fangshan and learn similar things. How could I not know this? But some tribes are stubborn and refuse to change! They think this island belongs to them and we Han people are invaders. What can I do? I can only persuade them physically as the emperor said before."
The classmates who hadn't seen each other for a long time chatted about what they had seen and heard in the past two years. Time passed quickly. At noon two days later, when the lower cabin of the Chengdu was almost completely flooded, they finally saw land.
"Wow!" Through the telescope, they saw the huge lighthouse on the land, the busy port under the lighthouse, and the city behind the port, which spread along the low hills. Zheng Wei and others also saluted Chen Xiaotian respectfully: "Captain Chen and Governor Sun have done a great job in the past two years!"
"Hahaha, same here. The feat of the three of you leading more than 600 warriors across the Pacific Ocean is more likely to attract reports from the six major newspapers. Our hard work for ten years is what you guys are amazed at. People like me who travel back and forth around the island every day don't think it's that great." Then he pointed forward and said, "Everyone, Taiwan Prefecture has been divided into four counties: North, Central, East, and South. Among them, our control over Taitung County is the weakest. In fact, I have been stationed in Taitung County for a long time. Taipei County is the seat of Taiwan Prefecture and is the most prosperous. The population of the entire prefecture is close to 100,000, which is more than half of the population ."
"That's amazing, Yunong. This kind of hard work is what really shows a person's ability."
"Yes, when we were in Fangshan, didn't the headmaster tell us that it takes time and effort to pursue a girl ?"
"Hey, speaking of this, I think, Yunong, you guys are governing Taiwan like a girl, right?"
“Hahaha~”
After a few classmates laughed and joked with each other for a while, the Chengdu finally successfully entered a lock amid the cheers of the sailors. Then, as the gate closed, a huge roar and a puff of black smoke gushed out from a huge, black machine above the lock. After a while, Zhang Hong, Zheng Guangyuan, Zheng Wei and others on the Chongqing saw that the water level in the lock began to drop at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Yu Nong, is this a steam engine?"
"Yes. This thing is a treasure. It was asked by Governor Sun who went to Fangshan Laboratory a few days ago. With this thing, the efficiency of pumping water in the lock and lifting cargo at the dock has increased by more than ten times. Hey, when you went to sea, the steam engine was not yet public, right? How did you know about it?"
"We heard about it when we were in America. According to the local Indians, the Spanish also installed steam engines in the local gold and silver mines to extract groundwater."
"Hiss~ I thought this thing was unique to our dynasty, but I didn't expect... Never mind, let's not talk about this for now. Everyone, Governor Sun has come to the dock to greet us personally. Let's go down quickly."
…
"Your subordinates are here to see Governor Sun."
"Hey, you heroes have traveled 30,000 miles to bring back important supplies for our dynasty. I should be the first to salute you."
Sun Chuanting was only 27 years old that year, but he had lived a very hard life in Taiwan for two years. Therefore, for a young man under 30, his hairline had already shown some signs of moving up.
"Everyone, you have come back from your long voyage with great difficulty. I have prepared some wine for you. Please take your seats first."
"Grandmaster Sun, thank you for your hospitality. We have been drifting on the sea for too long and really need a feast. But please let us unload the living creatures in the cabin first."
"Oh? A living thing?"
"Yes, we captured some unique species in America and wanted to present them to the emperor. However, we encountered the remnants of the Tokugawa family on the way back, which added too much time to our journey. Many people died along the way, and many animals on the ship also died. So, we have to unload the cargo quickly now."
"Okay, this is an important matter. I will accompany you to complete this matter first."
"Thank you, Governor. After the live things are unloaded, please organize people to send them to Beijing. After we finish the supply, we will drive the Chongqing to Hainan immediately. Otherwise, we don't know how many rubber plants will be left on the ship."
"...I understand. Come on, quickly organize people to unload the cargo!"
