Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 143 Pagoda Fortress
"Hahaha... Good luck and everything goes smoothly!" Seeing the cargo fleet docking safely, Zheng Guohui, who was standing high on the pagoda fortress, smiled happily and was in a very good mood.

"Congratulations, Marshal. Congratulations, Marshal. This is a good omen!"

"This indicates that this expedition will surely sweep away the Franks and return victorious, completely placing this archipelago under the rule of our Great Chu, and laying a foundation that will last forever."

"Hahaha...isn't it too early to say that?"

"General, I firmly believe that success will come soon! And it won't be long before it happens."

"Okay, I'll lend you my good words."

The surrounding military and political officials all joined in the fun, and Zheng Guohui nodded in agreement, and took the opportunity to inspect the fortress.

The Pagoda Fortress is located at the southernmost tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula. It is a gentle mountain rising hundreds of meters above sea level. It offers a panoramic view of the bay and has extremely advantageous geographical conditions.

Since the construction began in May last year, more than 6700 convicts have worked for a whole year. Now the pagoda fortress has begun to take shape and is quite large in scale.

Drawing inspiration from the design of the Davao Estuary Fortress, the Zamboanga Pagoda Fortress was expanded from its original single castle to a "品"-shaped "one main and two secondary" fortress structure.

These three fortresses, one main and two secondary, are spread out along the coastline and depend on each other. The two secondary fortresses are slightly protruding forward, about 1.5 to 2 kilometers away from the main fortress.

They are independent yet closely connected, and can cover more than ten kilometers of coastline in Zamboanga Bay, all under the coverage of coastal artillery fire, providing stronger defense.

Both sub-forts are "starfish-shaped" structures, located on the top of their respective hills.

Zheng Guohui stood on a high point of the main fort and looked down. The hills where the two "starfish-shaped" sub-forts were located were much lower in altitude, and the basic structures of the fortress were revealed. The fortress walls were built to a height of about 1 meter, and it would take at least 2 to 3 years to gradually complete them.

The two secondary fortresses are 7.5 meters high and also have Chinese rammed earth wall structures, with stone on the outside and brick on the inside. This method is thicker, stronger and easier to construct than the all-mountain stone structure of European city walls, greatly shortening the construction time.

Manila's Royal City is a typical European fortress, built entirely of rocks. The city walls are 2.44 meters thick and 6.7 meters high. It took 33 years to build.

The Chinese-style city wall does not require so much time. Take the Pagoda Fortress as an example. The main fort and the secondary fort are both rammed earth layers with a width of 6.5 meters. They require clay mixed with grass, shell powder and glutinous rice paste, and are repeatedly compacted.

Specific practices

It is very similar to building courtyard walls in northern Shaanxi, except that the project volume is much larger, but the construction is convenient and quick, and it is very strong.

After being exposed to the sun, it becomes harder than stone. Hitting it with a hammer only leaves a white mark, and it takes a lot of effort to knock off a small piece.

A stone wall was built around the rammed earth layer to enhance its defense, while a blue brick wall was built inside to protect it from erosion caused by wind and rain.

After completion
The city wall is over 7.4 meters thick, and in some artillery areas, it is as thick as 12 meters, which is enough to accommodate large-caliber coastal heavy artillery and bombard enemy fleets from a high position and a long distance.

There are also soldier caves, arsenals, and cave facilities for storing water and grain on the inside of the fortress wall. It combines the strengths of Chinese and Western fortress designs and has stronger defense capabilities.

The most representative feature of the Western fortress design philosophy is the "starfish-shaped" structure of the two secondary forts, which is exactly the same as that of the Royal City of Spain.

The bastion design of the main fort also reflects this point.

The main wall of the fort was built to more than half a person's height. Zheng Guohui became interested after inspecting it. He reached out to take the 4-pound sledgehammer used to smash stones, swung it hard and hit the rammed earth wall.

His action made the two accompanying generals, Zheng Shun and Qian Jiang, look at each other worriedly, fearing that the quality might be lacking.

A muffled sound of "bang"

The sledgehammer struck the rammed earth wall so hard that a spark flew, but the wall only broke into a few small pieces, about the size of a fingernail, leaving behind a white mark the size of a palm.

Zheng Guohui picked up the broken pieces, crushed them in his hands, and nodded, saying, "Very good. It's good enough to maintain this quality. Even a 60-pound cannon wouldn't be able to detonate it."

Qian Jiang breathed a sigh of relief. He stepped forward, clasped his fists, and said, "Marshal, I've been focusing on the fortress project these days, and I won't compromise on quality. I've vowed to build a fortress that will stand tall for centuries to come, and I won't slack off even a little."

"We should strictly enforce this. We can set a small goal, at least to ensure that this fortress can be passed down for a thousand years." Zheng Guohui dropped the sledgehammer in his hand, clapped his hands, and looked around at everyone before speaking.
"The Great Wall from the Qin and Han dynasties has been standing for a thousand years and still stands tall on top of the mountains.

We dare not compare ourselves to the sages, but we should at least set a small goal, taking General Qian as an example.

Can the fortress you supervise build stand for a thousand years and withstand the fierce artillery fire of the invading enemy fleet?
It will take time to prove whether it will be a name that will be passed down through the ages or be hung on the pillar of shame in history. It is not for us to judge, but for future generations to write.

This commander's words are not just for General Qian, but for all of you, just like the nine-story pagoda to be built there, it will inevitably become a historical monument."

Zheng Guohui pointed to the center of the fortress, where a large pit had been dug, reaching the exposed rock layer below.

Then they used steel bars, earth cement and large stones to build the base of the pagoda and a secret palace, into which they placed a palace made entirely of finely carved rosewood, with doors, windows, pillars, and even the ridge beasts that were lifelike.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Then the craftsman's leader came forward to report that the copper had melted and was ready for pouring. Zheng Guohui and the others then approached the incense table and, amid the monks' chanting, devoutly offered their respects to heaven and earth.

Several furnaces not far away were burning fiercely, melting the copper blocks into molten copper, emitting a dazzling orange light.

At the edge of the pit you can see
In the rosewood palace below, there are 11 Buddha relics traded from India, as well as 3600 pieces of porcelain, including cups, plates, and bowls, covering the finest porcelains from all dynasties.

There are more than 800 pieces of Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain alone, as well as more than 2000 fine official kiln pieces from the early period of this dynasty and dozens of Han Dynasty porcelains, all of which are excellent products.

These items were sent into the underground palace one by one, carefully placed, wrapped in velvet, and stacked tightly.

In addition, after the sacrifice, the golden seal of the King of Chu, the edict of founding the country, the sacrificial prayer written by Zheng Guohui himself, a lock of his hair, a precious sword, and other sacrificial items were also sent into the red sandalwood secret palace one after another.

The base of the secret palace is 3.2 meters thick. After all the treasures were placed in the rosewood secret palace, the entrance to the maze was locked with a purple copper door. This is a cast Nine Dragons Soaring Clouds Gate, which is extremely imposing.

After placing the mold, a dozen craftsmen used copper liquid from a burning furnace to pour the copper door together, leaving no gaps.

Then the craftsmen rushed forward and began to pile up the heavy stones. After inserting steel bars into the gaps at the edges, they poured concrete mixed with glutinous rice shell powder to form a solid, integrated nine-story pagoda base.

Until evening
Zheng Guohui led his followers to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, burn incense and pray, and witnessed with his own eyes how countless treasures and Buddha relics were sealed into the red sandalwood palace, poured with copper, and built with layers of stones.

This big pit is about ten meters deep. With the joint efforts of hundreds of people, it was built to the same level as the ground within one day, becoming the foundation of the nine-story pagoda.

The "historical monument" that Zheng Guohui mentioned refers to this nine-story pagoda.

This hexagonal nine-story pagoda will be the landmark building of Zamboanga in the future. It is located in the core of the pagoda fortress and is also the highest point.

The entire main fortress wall was built along the undulating terrain of the mountain. The wall base is about 21 meters wide and convex in shape. The average height is 7.4 to 3.4 meters, the average width at the top is about meters, and the circumference is about kilometers.

The construction scale of this building is smaller than that of the Forbidden City. It is estimated to take 6 years to complete. At the peak period, more than convicts and hundreds of Chinese craftsmen were mobilized to work day and night to complete it.

The core of the main fortress is this hexagonal nine-story exquisite pagoda, which looks like a pillar supporting the sky.

This stone pagoda is made of no wood. The raised eaves of each floor are covered with copper tiles and hung with copper bells to protect it from the howling sea breeze from the mountain top, ensuring that it will remain immortal and stand for thousands of years.

This pagoda also serves as a lighthouse. A sophisticated reflective lighting device will be installed on the ninth floor, using prisms to reflect light so that it can be seen on the sea surface dozens of miles away.

A large bronze bell is installed on the eighth floor, which is used as an alarm bell for the fortress.

The entire tower base is 28 meters high and is divided into three layers. It is equipped with white jade granite railings and finely carved steps. The entire body is paved with white jade granite slabs. The tower base has a diameter of 108 meters and is also a hexagonal structure, which looks magnificent.

The main body of the nine-story pagoda is 108 meters high, plus the 28-story base, for a total height of 136 meters. This surpasses the highest standard of ancient pagodas in the Shenzhou continent and is the highest in the world.

Such an iconic building is not only a landmark of the Zamboanga Peninsula, but also a landmark building of the future Da Chu, and is of great symbolic significance.

It is for this reason
Zheng Guohui personally inquired about various issues in the design and construction of the pagoda, and ordered to concentrate efforts to ensure the high-quality completion of the pagoda.

He hopes that every citizen passing through the Basilan Strait by boat will be able to see this pagoda, a symbol of the new kingdom, from afar, and feel a strong sense of nostalgia for their homeland.

Just like the Han people outside the Great Wall seeing the Great Wall, what lingers is the deep attachment.

at dusk
Zheng Guohui and his entourage returned to the city of Zamboanga. In just a year and a half, it had expanded into a city of nearly 5 people, exuding a strong atmosphere of a coastal garden city.

The straight roads here are horizontal and vertical, the green belts are lush with flowers and plants, the main streets of the city are paved with stone slabs, and the 2-4-story Chinese-style buildings with flying eaves and brackets on both sides of the road make people feel as if they have returned to the city of Jinling.

The difference is
The city is cleaner and more beautiful, exuding a unique modern atmosphere everywhere.

All the roads in Jinling City, big and small, are dirt roads, raising dust as people and horses pass by. It is a typical city from the old times, except that it has more public toilets than other cities.

That was the only useful thing Zheng Guohui did in the early days of his administration, but that was all.

After all, he was not the chief administrative officer of Jinling City, but a military general guarding a place. It was not easy for him to overstep his authority and interfere in the daily affairs of Jinling Prefecture.

It is different in Nanyang. Sampoerna and Davao are the city pictures painted by Zheng Guohui alone. He introduced many advanced concepts of later generations and created these extraordinary beautiful coastal cities.

Every scene he saw in the city gave him a strong sense of accomplishment and made him deeply intoxicated.

Everything here is blank, waiting for his brush to paint freely.

(End of this chapter)