Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 323 The Increasingly Perfect Supply Point
At 10:00 a.m. on May 20, before the morning mist had completely dissipated, the wooden pier at Star Bay Castle was already bustling with activity.

The American Trading Company's merchant ship "Changlong" is making final preparations for departure.

Boatswain Chen Agui squatted on the deck, his rough fingers carefully checking the seal of the newly replenished freshwater barrels—the snowmelt from the high mountains gleamed with a clear, cool light inside the oak barrels.

"Hurry up! The tide will change direction in half an hour!" Captain Sun Zhensheng shouted to the sailors.

He watched as the dockworkers loaded the last few baskets of wild strawberries from the valley onto the ship; those bright red berries, still glistening with morning dew, were a precious supplement to prevent scurvy.

The merchant ship had just unloaded 15 tons of wheat, corn, and preserved products from Xinhua yesterday.

The cargo hold still retained the fresh scent of grains, mingled with the aroma of fresh tung oil.

First Mate Zhao Mingyuan was marking in the cargo hold logbook: "Cargo hold number six is ​​empty, no cracks in the ribs, spare ballast stones are in place."

The "Changlong" ship's beautiful pear-shaped hull gleamed with a pale blue hue in the sunlight.

This type of vessel, which draws on Dutch technology, boasts astonishing cargo efficiency—its flat-bottom design allows for a cargo hold volume that is 30% larger than that of Spanish galleons.

Sun Zhensheng stroked the newly added scratches on the ship's side, a memento of the encounter with the reefs at Zhaoyebao last week. In the midst of raging winds and waves, they barely avoided several unexpected reefs by scraping against the cliff walls. Fortunately, the ship's unique shallow draft design allowed them to escape disaster.

"Mainmast sails ready!"

At the command, the twenty-one crew members moved with the precision of clockwork.

This crew numbered only one-third of the Spanish galleons, yet their efficiency was astonishing due to their modular cargo holds and simple sail design.

When the northwest monsoon billows the sails, the spray from the bow startles a flock of albatrosses.

Captain Sun Zhensheng adjusted the compass, heading due south.

The "Changlong" is a 400-ton displacement ship modeled after the Flute ship (also known as a flute ship), known for its high cargo capacity and low operating costs.

This type of ship features a pear-shaped cross-section and a flat bottom design, providing extremely large cargo space. Its cargo capacity is 25%-30% higher than other ships of the same tonnage at the same time, such as the Spanish galleon. It is currently Xinhua's dedicated cargo transport ship.

The ship reduced the weight of its superstructure, lowering its center of gravity and allowing it to carry more cargo without compromising its navigational stability.

What's even more commendable is that this transport ship uses modular cargo holds, which facilitates the rapid loading and unloading of bulk cargo, such as grain, timber, building materials, wool, and livestock.

Moreover, this type of ship is extremely economical, requiring only about twenty crew members. Compared to traditional galleons and Spanish galleons (which require more than 50 people), it significantly reduces labor costs, making it the most ideal type of transport vessel for Xinhua Shipping, which is extremely short of manpower.

During this period, the Dutch gradually dominated and monopolized global trade with these highly efficient transport ships, especially supporting their Baltic "mother trade" and Atlantic triangular trade, ultimately earning them the prestigious reputation of being the "carriers of the sea."

根据荷兰东印度公司的数据反馈，一艘标准弗鲁特船（载重约200-400吨）的载货空间利用率可达85%以上，而同期其他船型普遍在60%-70%，这一效率优势使荷兰商船的运输成本比竞争对手低30%-40%。

However, this type of ship is purely commercial, designed for efficient cargo transport. It is usually three-masted with simplified sails (galenas and Spanish galleons, to meet the needs of ocean voyages, usually have 3-4 masts with complex sails), and has no armament. It also has a shallow draft. If it encounters armed pirate ships or hostile maritime forces, it has almost no power to resist.

However, in the sparsely populated Pacific coast, Xinhua merchant ships did not need to worry about the risk of maritime plunder.

Since Xinhua signed a ceasefire agreement with the Spanish Mexican colonial authorities two years ago, the once "noisy" Pacific region has returned to its former peace and tranquility.

Xinhua's ships were all engaged in busy immigration transport and lucrative smuggling trade, while the Spanish continued to peacefully transport the gold and silver they had plundered from their colonial territories such as Peru and Chile, and occasionally make a trans-Pacific trade trip.

Well, due to Xinhua's deep involvement, the Manila galleon trade, which Spain has been operating for decades, has shown signs of decline year by year, with the frequency of trade changing from once a year or once every two years to once every three years.

Even so, there were very few businessmen and investors willing to invest in trans-Pacific trade.

It is foreseeable that trans-Pacific trade will eventually be gradually controlled by the new Chinese, and the trade network painstakingly built by the Spanish will gradually decline.

Since we can do business legitimately, fighting and killing are not in line with Xinhua's "temperament," so we should work with the Spanish to maintain peace and stability in the Pacific region.

During this period, the Pacific region, especially the west coast of the Americas, was still a global trade vacuum. Apart from the occasional pirates who tried to rob Spanish treasure ships, there were not many foreign powers that had any influence over this area.

Therefore, from the perspective of Xinhua Chinese, the Pacific Ocean is relatively safe, and there is no need to worry too much even if the transport ships passing by are unarmed.

If you're really unlucky and happen to encounter a European pirate ship that's "hunting" for food in the Pacific Ocean, then you can only accept your bad luck.

All the crew members could do was pray sincerely for God's protection.

Yes, this kind of ship is like a heavy-duty truck in the logistics industry. Although it is efficient and cheap in terms of transportation, it sacrifices speed. It is difficult to escape from the light and agile pirate ship and can only become a lamb to the slaughter in the end.

Spanish galleons and traditional galleons are like armored cash transport vehicles; they are safe, but their operating costs are shockingly high.

Three days later, the "Changlong" arrived at Yongning Bay (now San Francisco Bay), passed through the towering headlands on both sides, and traveled more than ten kilometers before slowly docking at the Yongning Fort (now Oakland, California) pier, which was hidden behind the peninsula (at this time, the original Alameda Shan was connected to the Oakland area to form a peninsula), where it was warmly welcomed by dozens of garrison personnel.

Yongning Fort was built in February last year. Although its facilities are not yet fully complete, it is a large market town with great symbolism of civilization on this wild land, and has become the main trading center for the surrounding indigenous tribes.

In March of this year, after a personnel replenishment, the Yongning Fort colonists numbered over eighty people. Coupled with a large number of firearms and swords, they formed an absolute overwhelming force against the surrounding indigenous tribes.

What was even more frightening was that several cannons were mounted on the walls of the wooden stockade, their dark muzzles gleaming coldly. Of course, these cannons were not intended to deal with the threat from the indigenous tribes, but rather to target the Spanish thousands of miles away.

Because, legally, the California region, including Fort Yongning, was part of the sacred and inviolable territory of the Kingdom of Spain.

If they were to find out that the new Chinese were so audacious as to establish a settlement here, it would surely cause quite a stir, and might even inevitably lead to a new armed conflict.

"Don't worry, according to what they said, the Spanish won't be able to come over for at least the next ten years!"

Captain Sun Zhensheng was the first to disembark from the merchant ship. With a smile on his face, he warmly shook hands with Liao Desheng, the person in charge of Yongning Fort, and they exchanged pleasantries.

The sailors also jumped off the ship, some stretching their bodies, which had become stiff like stone slabs from the long voyage, and breathing in the fresh air.

Others couldn't wait to head to the small market by the dock, eager to see what new and interesting things were there.

Liao Desheng instructed the immigrants who had come with him to help the sailors unload the cargo from the ship, and then he led Captain Sun Zhensheng and several other senior crew members into the village.

As they approached the village gate, they saw several immigrants leading a group of tribal natives in digging a defensive trench, and they couldn't help but chuckle.

These immigrants stationed there were really going to turn the village into something like a tortoise shell for the sake of "eternal peace"!
"It's better to be safe than sorry!" Liao Desheng said with an awkward smile. "After all, Yongning Fort is thousands of kilometers away from our headquarters. If we are really attacked by the Western barbarians, it will take several months to get the news back from here. It will take at least half a year for troops from the mainland to come to our aid. During this time, we will have to rely entirely on ourselves."

"Hehe... digging a trench will at least add a layer of security to the village. To be honest, we've also been thinking of diverting water from that lagoon a few kilometers away (now Lake Merritt in Oakland, which was formerly a natural tidal lagoon connected to San Francisco Bay through a narrow waterway, with its water level rising and falling with the tides) to use as a moat."

"In that case, even if the Western Barbarians send hundreds or even thousands of people, we can firmly defend Yongning Fort and prevent them from even touching the fortress walls!"

"Build a moat?" Sun Zhensheng was immediately taken aback. "With just a few dozen people, do you think you can handle such a large project?"

"What's wrong with that?" Liao Desheng said dismissively, "There are two or three local tribes around here, with more than a hundred able-bodied men in total. Just give them some salt and a few knives, and we can get them to work for a few days."

"Of course, we don't expect to finish such a large project in one or two years. It should take about four or five years. In addition, the water from that lagoon will not only be used as a moat, but also for irrigating farmland, creating thousands or tens of thousands of acres of irrigated land."

"What a spirit!" Sun Zhensheng praised after hearing this. "However, your most urgent task should be to plant more vegetables and fruits so that we passing ships can have them."

"That's for sure," Liao Desheng said with a smile. "This year, we've reclaimed more than forty mu of land. Apart from reserving half of it for potatoes, we've planted all of it with various vegetables, which will definitely meet the needs of your passing merchant ships. As for fruit, you probably shouldn't even think about it for the next two or three years. The transplanted citrus and nectarine seedlings were only planted recently, and it will be quite a few years before they bear fruit."

"Excellent, excellent!" Sun Zhensheng nodded repeatedly. "Just for the fact that your Yongning Fort was able to achieve this, you, as the garrison leader, have done an extremely competent job. Oh, by the way, how many hides have you collected in the past six months?"

"More than forty beaver pelts, more than thirty sea otter pelts, more than fifty deer pelts, more than one hundred and twenty rabbit pelts... and a few fox pelts, totaling about two hundred and forty pelts. I'll have Secretary Hu give you a list when I hand them over to you later."

"Hmm, not bad." Sun Zhensheng looked up at the wooden village in front of him, then turned and asked, "Do you have any extra accommodations in your village for our crew to rest in? A few days ago, we collided with a returning immigrant speedboat in Xingwan Fort, which left all of us crammed on the boat without even a hot meal."

"Don't worry, although Yongning Fort has simple conditions and not much supplies, it can still provide food for your twenty or so crew members. As for accommodation and rest, there are ready-made empty rooms for you to use, and we will definitely not let you continue to drift on the ship."

Sun Zhensheng cupped his hands in thanks to him.

On a long sea voyage, being able to rest on land for a night, have a hot meal, and replenish some fresh vegetables and fruits can definitely boost the morale of the entire ship.

The journey from Xinhua headquarters to Mexico was relatively smooth, and the smuggling base on Black Shark Island (now Guadalupe Island, Mexico) was reached in less than twenty days without too many difficulties or troubles.

However, the return journey to Qiming Island is against the wind and current the entire way, taking more than forty to fifty days. If there is no supply point along the way, it will definitely be an extremely arduous voyage.

Smelly fresh water, hardened and moldy food, the fatigue of a long voyage, and the ever-present threat of disease and death.

What's even more distressing is that these specialized merchant ships have a small crew, resulting in very long shifts for crew members. It's common for sailors in some positions to work seventeen or eighteen hours a day.

In the event of severe sea conditions or weather, many sailors may work continuously for several days and nights without getting any sleep.

In such a state of extreme exhaustion and fatigue, a moment's lapse in concentration by the sailors could lead to a terrible tragedy.

Nowadays, several midway supply points, such as Yongning Fort, Xingwan Fort, Zhaoye Fort, and Zhenlong Fort (now Westport, Washington), have been established from Black Shark Island to Shixing Port, providing these merchant ships with an opportunity to rest and resupply every seven or eight days during their return voyage.

This has a positive promoting and enhancing effect on the recovery of the ships and personnel, giving everyone the motivation to move forward again.

In fact, deep down they thought it would be best to add a few more supply points on top of this, so that the ships could dock and rest every three to five days.

Such a sea voyage would become extremely easy and pleasant for all crew members.

"Hehe, if that's what you guys think, why don't we just push our sphere of influence all the way to the doorstep of the Western Barbarians, and then carry out smuggling by land? That would be even easier!" Liao Desheng joked with a smile.

“It’s not impossible in the next few decades,” Sun Zhensheng said. “Five or six years ago, who could have imagined that we could build a base here? Who could have imagined that the population of Xinhua would grow several times over in just a few years from less than 10,000?”

“A few days ago, I heard from the sailors of that immigrant fast ship in Star Bay Castle that this year’s immigration season, in addition to our own dozen or so ships, the Portuguese in Oyster Mirror have the audacity to send five large ships to help us transport immigrants.”

"I estimate that the number of immigrants brought back this year may exceed 8,000. If we add the population born in New South Wales, the total population of New China will exceed 55,000 by the end of this year."

"Tsk tsk, if you calculate it this way, it will probably take less than four years for Xinhua to have 100,000 people! Just think, with a larger population, it will naturally take over such a large area of ​​land in the south."

"Old Liao, who knows, in ten or twenty years, your Yongning Fort will become Yongning County, or even Yongning Prefecture, and you will be the county magistrate or the prefect!"
-
(End of this chapter)