Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 124 Ezo

On the vast blue sea, three ships, led by the "Polang", raised their sails one after another, slowly passed the more than 20 Zheng armed ships that had made way for them, and headed straight to the northeast.

Behind them, a group of Zheng's sailors on the ship burst into cheers again and again, rejoicing over the huge income they had reaped.

"Is this a disgrace to our Qiming Island?" Zhou Yong looked back at the Zheng family's fleet and said gloomily, "In exchange for Zheng's permission to sail, we actually paid them five thousand taels of silver! ... If I go back and tell this, it's so embarrassing!"

"In this turbulent era, the strong are respected and the weak are submissive. There's nothing shameful about that. We'll get this money back sooner or later." Wei Yingbin said calmly, "Once we're on the rise, we'll make them pay us back with interest!"

"It seems Zheng Zhilong surrendered shortly after the Qing invaders marched south." Zhou Yong laughed bitterly. "If that's the case, we might not have the chance to settle this score with him in a decade or so."

"That's not certain," Wei Yingbin thought for a moment and said, "If the Portuguese can continue to help transport immigrants, our population growth rate in the coming years will far exceed expectations. I believe that in another eight to ten years, with a sufficient population, we will not only be able to establish some basic industrial facilities, but also build a batch of large ocean-going ships."

"By then, we will have dozens of ships coming together. I want to see how Zheng Zhilong can stop us. When he surrenders, we can take over all his naval forces."

"..." Zhou Yong looked at him in astonishment, "Captain, I thought you were going to say that we would bring a fleet to block Zheng Zhilong's doorstep and force him to pay us!"

"Don't be silly. Even in another twenty years, we won't have the massive military force to capture the land. At best, we can only send out a few thousand or eight hundred people to patrol the coast. Besides, our primary goal for the next decade or so is still to intensify immigration and increase our population, not to mobilize all our forces to confront Zheng Zhilong!"

"That's such a shame," Zhou Yong said with regret. "I once read a document that when Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing, he had a fortune exceeding ten million taels of silver. In the end, it all went to the Qing invaders. If we had the chance, we should have stormed his Anping lair before he surrendered and taken all the dirty money he had accumulated!"

"Do you think we'll be short of money in the future?"

"Oh, that's right." Zhou Yong laughed. "The Fraser River Basin, the Klondike River Basin (Seattle area), and California are home to many gold mines. Digging up any one of them would be enough to cover the cost of our immigration to the Ming Dynasty. If we add to that the large amount of gold and silver we can earn from the smuggling channels we've established in Spanish America, this will ensure we don't have to worry about running out of money for the foreseeable future."

"So, all we lack is people!" Wei Yingbin patted his shoulder. "Be patient. With a sufficient population, we will definitely develop. Not only will we be able to dominate the coast of the Ming Dynasty, but even the entire Pacific Ocean will become our exclusive sphere of influence!"
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After passing Kinmen and Xinghua (now Putian), the fleet turned east, crossed the strait and headed towards Dongfan Island.

On June 6, we crossed Keelung Mountain and headed towards the Ryukyu Islands.

On July 7, it entered the east coast of Japan, then turned northeast again and headed towards Ezo, preparing to enter the Kuroshio Current belt.

With the help of the strong southeast monsoon, the fleet's speed immediately increased, and in just over ten days it reached the waters of 42 degrees north latitude, near the coast of Ezo.

Just when the Portuguese thought they were about to turn the ship around and, with the help of the weak westerly wind, sail eastward along the Kuroshio Current, the Chinese stopped again.

Two small boats were launched, carrying a dozen people and heading towards the deserted land.

How come these Chinese people have set up a secret base here again?
The people on the boat moved forward carefully, took out their measuring tools, and made detailed measurements of the surrounding sea area they passed through.

"...The maximum water depth in the bay is 12.5 meters, and the shallowest is 7.6 meters. It should be able to accommodate ocean-going vessels weighing tens of thousands to tens of thousands of tons."

"…the water depth near the coast is between four and a half and six and a half meters, and the Wavebreaker can reach this point directly."

"...This is the river mouth, and the water is about five meters deep. Large ships can go up the river mouth to the front of the river."

"...Oh, the river is a bit shallow, about one to two meters deep. Probably only flat-bottomed river boats or small to medium-sized paddle boats can enter it."

"...Alright, let's land. Let's explore the shore and see if it's suitable for establishing a supply point."

“…” The two small boats slowly approached the shore, and the sailors jumped off one after another, wading through the knee-deep river water and coming to the land.

"This should be the Kushiro Port in Hokkaido in the future, right?" Former naval cadet Bingwei Zhonglong stood on a reef and looked around. All he saw was a dense primeval forest without any human trace.

"Yes, this is Kushiro Port." Qi Yongze nodded and said, "It's the fourth largest city in Hokkaido and one of the largest fishing ports in Japan. Oh, by the way, there seems to be a large coal mine nearby, which can be used to refuel our steamships passing through here."

"You're really thinking ahead!" Wei Zhonglong smiled. "We're still broke, and you've already thought about sailing steamships in the future."

"Instructor Zhang said that steam engines aren't high-tech. As long as we have the most basic processing tools and materials, we can build a working steam engine in less than ten years."

"More than ten years!" Wei Zhonglong said, walking towards the forest. "By the time the steam engine is built, we'll all be old bones. How can we have the energy to drive a boat around?"

"You can't think that way." Qi Yongze followed behind, holding a matchlock rifle. "Twenty years from now, we'll be in our prime, ready to make a difference in this world. I've also been thinking about whether, at some point in the future, we could use this island as a base to give the Japanese a good beating, a way to vent the anger we've felt in our past lives."

"That's encouraging!" Wei Zhonglong walked deeper into the forest along the path opened by several young immigrants. "Although this is a grudge from a previous life, since we've arrived in this world, we should take revenge. When the time comes, we'll give the Japanese a 'Black Ship Attack,' break their borders, force them to cede territory and pay compensation, and re-sign all the humiliating clauses once imposed on the Qing Dynasty, turning them into our semi-colony!"

“Why not turn it into a full-blown colony?”

"Why? Because its population is so large! At that time, Japan had a population of between 1 and million (Note )? How much force do you think we would need to mobilize to conquer or rule this country?"

"Then how did the American empire of later generations tame it?"

"That's just taming, not complete conquest."

"That's fine." Qi Yongze didn't care. "As long as I can make them become my grandsons, be obedient, and stop biting people, it can be considered a disguised conquest."

"I've noticed that you and Han Jian are the same type. You both want to be king of this world."

"You do not want it?"

"I don't have any big ambitions. I just want to live a good life in this world."

"Then why did you take the initiative to apply to stay in Hokkaido and establish this supply base?"

"Establishing a supply base on the east coast of Hokkaido is extremely important for our trans-Pacific migration operation." Wei Zhonglong paused and continued, "If our ships and personnel can rest here for a few days before crossing the Pacific, we can return eastward to Qiming Island in excellent condition, and perhaps fewer immigrants will die on the way."

"And I stay here to build this base better and faster, and to contribute to the development and growth of our entire group. As long as our strength continues to grow, our social economy continues to progress, and our material culture continues to prosper, then I will be able to live a better and better life."

"Besides, although I don't have big ambitions, I do have a competitive spirit. Look at Li Liang. He's a cadet like us, but he's currently one of the nine members of the decision-making committee and is in charge of Guangfeng Fort's affairs. I'm thinking, in ten or twenty years, he'll be the executive leader of our future country, while I'll still be an unknown passerby."

"So, proactively applying to build a supply base in Hokkaido is an opportunity for us. Think about it, those important officials in ancient times could manage the army on horseback and govern the people on foot. After all this training, we can conquer the seas on board and develop colonies and govern local affairs on foot. We will be extremely capable officials in the team, and our future status will not be low, right?"

　Note 1: During the reign of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (late 16th century), Japan's population was approximately between 1200 million and 1800 million. In the early 18th century, Japan's population grew to 3100 million, ranking third in the world, after the Qing Dynasty and the Mughal Empire. After that, Japan's population entered a period of slow growth or even stagnation. By the first detailed census after the Meiji Restoration in 1872, Japan's population was 3481 million.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)