Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 163: Building Angel Port

Puerto Angeles (also known as Puerto Princesa, Princess Port)
After successfully occupying the Angel Port indigenous settlement in the central Palawan Islands, the next morning, General Zheng Shun, with dark circles under his eyes, and the refreshed fleet commander Nie Tongsheng, came to the county government office (note: the original Catholic church).

"I'm honored to greet both of you. I don't know what good fortune has brought you both here today. This is such an honor for our humble county!" Cao Yuxiu came out with a smile, bowed first and said.

General Zheng Shun turned and glanced at Nie Tongsheng, then said with some resignation, "Your Excellency, you are asking knowingly. Now that we have successfully captured Angel Harbor, we all need to submit a memorial to the Marshal, detailing our actions. I spent half the night writing this memorial, and I'm much more exhausted than you two."

He took out a thick letter, which felt heavy in his hand. It was stamped with the guerrilla general's wax seal, and in the blank space on the confidentiality level, the words "Military Secret" were written in bold.

According to the military and political system of Da Chu

Every battle report must be submitted quickly, detailing the course of the battle, personnel and material losses, confidential information obtained, analyzing the current situation and making judgments, explaining the next plan of action, etc. There are certain rules for all of this.

When the statistical data arrived yesterday evening, General Zheng Shun was too busy with other matters to write and finished the report in the middle of the night.

The army he led won a resounding victory. There were no casualties in the battle and only 7 people were injured.

Most of them broke their arms or sprained their legs while chasing the natives. Only one unlucky guy was hit in the left chest by a flying bone knife, which was considered a battle wound.

These indigenous tribal warriors were already frightened, and the entire battle was one-sided.

According to the new combat plan, the second and third battalions will launch clearing operations to the south and north respectively, and plan to take two weeks to sweep the entire island.

After this battle
Even if there are still some indigenous people who escape into the mountains, they are very few and cannot make up a significant force.

The reason for the urgent report was that a brief and fierce battle broke out between the naval fleet and the Frankish warships in the bay. This situation was very important and had to be reported to the Marshal's Headquarters as soon as possible.

Fleet commander Nie Tongsheng also took out a thick petition, which was also stamped with wax. It was stamped with his official seal and could not be forged by others.

The battle of the task force ended early, and while Nie Tongsheng was transporting personnel and supplies to the shore, he hid in the captain's room and wrote furiously, so he didn't have to stay up late.

Upon seeing this, County Magistrate Cao Yuxiu also took out a petition of his own, but it was much thinner.

The three men put the petition together, packed it up and glued it together on the spot, dripped melted wax on the seals, and each took out his official seal to stamp it.

It was then handed over to the captain of the "Endeavour", Zheng Jiahao, who watched him leave with a solemn expression.

Zheng Jiahao quickly boarded the sailing warship and ordered to "raise the anchor", "lower the sails" and "adjust the course", leading the captured "Count Fabiano Perez" warship, one after another, heading towards the east open sea.

On the battleship "Count Fabiano Perez", there are now 39 Chinese sailors who were hastily assembled and can barely drive this captured warship.

Following these two sailing warships, three fully unloaded sailing troop transports formed a small fleet returning to Davao Port, delivering urgent documents.

It is expected to arrive at Davao Port tomorrow afternoon.

Watching the small sailboat fleet sail away, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief. Cao Yuxiu bowed and asked with a smile, "General Zheng, when will the two clearing teams set out?"

"Your Excellency, I have issued military orders. The Second Battalion and its subordinates, totaling over 800 men, will depart before noon, searching and suppressing the enemy as they advance northward. The Third Battalion and its subordinates, totaling over 800 men, will search and suppress the enemy as they advance southward."

"That is to say, the First Battalion and the Artillery will remain here to guard and guard the prisoners."

"Yes, that's generally the case. I wonder why the county magistrate asked this question?"

"General, please, since we have so many prisoners. The county has arranged personnel to take over and promote the construction of the colony as soon as possible."

"Oh... That's great! If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know."

"Before the first batch of Chinese immigrants arrive at the end of the month, we will indeed rely on the General's expeditionary soldiers. Thank you in advance." Cao Yuxiu bowed respectfully and said with deep emotion.
“According to the construction plan;
The county plans to separate the indigenous population into one camp for men and one camp for the elderly, women and children, and manage them separately.

After a rough count, there are about 4233 indigenous men, most of whom are strong and healthy.

It can be divided into three teams, each with 1,300 to 1,400 people.

One team is the logging team, who need to be distributed with axes and saws to cut down the forest. This team is very dangerous and needs at least two to three hundred soldiers to guard it.

One team is the transport team, which is responsible for hauling the harvested logs one by one to the docks and villages.

This team only has ropes, so it is not very dangerous. It mainly relies on manpower to tow the goods, and only 50 soldiers are needed to guard it.

One team is the dock construction team. For the time being, they only need to dig the foundation and do some rough work, and they need about a hundred soldiers to guard them.

In total, about 450 soldiers are needed."

"Before leaving, the Marshal instructed that everything should be focused on assisting colonial development. This general will immediately mobilize manpower to lend a helping hand to the county magistrate." Zheng Shun said generously.

Cao Yuxiu hadn't expected it to go so smoothly. Overjoyed, she bowed and replied, "Thank you, General Zheng! Any success in Angel Port's construction would be inseparable from your full support."

"You're welcome. It's just my job."

Cao Yuxiu and Zheng Shun discussed the matter, but Nie Tongsheng did not respond, and there was no manpower available on his warship to be used for the construction of the county government.

We still need to transport supplies to the shore today, and we will be busy for at least 2 to 3 days.

During this period, Nie Tongsheng's two sailing warships must keep patrolling the nearby waters to prevent any accidents.

The short and fierce encounter the evening before yesterday made Nie Tongsheng alert. Although his confession showed that it was just an accident, he dared not relax.

The white captives were taken back to Davao by ship and handed over to the Marshal's Office for interrogation.

The report has been submitted. What he has to do now is to complete the transportation of personnel and supplies, lead the two sailing warships to escort the remaining two cargo ships back, and happily end this combat expedition mission.

The officers and soldiers of the "Xin" Regiment of the 2nd Expeditionary Division will have to assemble and garrison here for a period of time, waiting for new orders from the Marshal's Headquarters.

Each of the 1400 sword and shield soldiers can be assigned an indigenous woman based on their military merits, and can also be allocated a portion of merit land based on the number of merit points.

The tax rate for meritorious fields is 30%, which is half less than that for civilian fields.

These 1400 sword and shield soldiers were selected from later Chinese immigrants and will settle down and live and work in Palawan in the future.

You can make a living by farming, raising cattle, pigs, chickens and ducks, forming a new Chinese family with an indigenous woman, and living a stable life.

However, at a fixed time every month, if you perform patrol, sentry, guard and other tasks, the village and town can provide you with some food subsidies.

There are not many of them, but joining the militia is an honor. Many village heads and town heads are selected from them, with priority given to those with outstanding merits.

If you're not in the militia, where can you build your reputation? In the next two to three months, Chinese immigrants will primarily migrate to Palawan, totaling 6 to 7 people.

As long as the news of the successful occupation of Palawan Island is relayed to Davao Province, the immigrant fleet can then bring the news to the transit point in the Penghu Islands when it returns.

The immigrant fleets heading south would stop at the Penghu transit point to replenish food, vegetables and water, and receive the latest instructions here;

That is, heading to Davao or Zamboanga?

If the fleet is hit by a storm and misses the anchorage at the Penghu Islands, it can usually go directly to the Zamboanga Peninsula and then make some arrangements.

But this is the exception, not the rule.

After the three leaders reached an agreement, they immediately assigned personnel to screen the indigenous population.

Needless to say, the soldiers used rough means to separate the indigenous captives, both men and women, from each tribe and organized them into camps. The process went exceptionally smoothly.

After experiencing yesterday's nightmare-like massacre, these indigenous men and women no longer had the will to resist and most of them accepted their fate.

A small number of indigenous women were responsible for making fire and cooking. The Chinese officers and soldiers ate rice and big pot dishes stewed with meat and cassava, while the indigenous convicts drank porridge.

Most of the women dug soil and mud, and built thatched houses within the lime line to prepare homes for the large number of Chinese immigrants who were about to land.

The three waves of convicts were supervised by soldiers and each did their own thing. Some cut down trees, some transported goods, and some dug holes and laid foundations for the construction of the dock and pier.

Suddenly, everyone started to move.

The two pieces of equipment that Cao Yucheng was most concerned about were not unloaded from the ship until the evening. They were two steam engines and sawmill equipment, including the customized wooden workbenches and guard plates.

Before dark

The two steam engines were placed in an open area more than one kilometer away from the village. Two large sheds were built here to prevent rain from invading.

By evening, the area around the two large sheds was filled with piles of logs as big as small mountains, and the native convicts were still bringing in a steady stream of them.

Early morning of the third day

Cao Yuxiu led his men to the sawmill early in the morning. These steam engines were all operated by Chinese. After some effort, they finally got the steam engine to drive the band saw to turn.

Then the log was lifted onto the wooden workbench. Amid the harsh sound of sawing, the first piece of wood was sawed off, followed by the workers' warm cheers.

Cao Yuxiu was also very happy, twisting his beard with his hands and showing an aunt's smile, nodding and saying;
"Hahaha... The sawmill's opening signifies the official start of our county's colonization of Port Angeles. It's incredibly significant!"

"Congratulations, Lord County Master. You will surely make great achievements here and gain the special favor of the Marshal."

"Haha...congratulations, we still need to work hard!" Cao Yuxiu said with a smile that couldn't be closed.

With the support of two sawmills, the speed of wood processing suddenly increased.

A large amount of wood was sawed into boards and timber, and a long straw shed was erected in the timber yard. The boards and timber were separated and padded, and then placed under the straw shed to dry in the shade.

The thatched shed above can block the rain, and under the scorching tropical sun and strong sea breeze, it only takes more than a month to dry to a usable state.

It is very good for building houses and will not cause large-scale warping or deformation.

At the seaside dock construction site
A log as thick as a thigh is sharpened at one end and planted deep in the pit to form a pillar. A groove is chiseled out on the log and connected to the horizontally crossed round logs, forming a solid support without a single nail.

In this way, the wooden pier extended into the bay, and in just a few days, it was built over 60 meters long.

According to the dock construction plan, the entire wooden pier will continue to extend forward about 200 meters, forming an "I"-shaped pier directly into the sea.

Three such wooden piers will be built, each 120 meters apart. When connected in the future, they will form an inverted "out"-shaped dock, which can accommodate five or six large sailing ships at the same time and can also accommodate four lifting equipment.

After the terminal is put into use, its cargo and personnel handling capacity will be greatly enhanced.

As a coastal city, Port Angeles’s wharf plays a core role in promoting the entire city and is definitely a top priority in its construction.

After the logging crews cut down a certain amount of forest, the lumber piled up like a mountain around the sawmill, and they couldn't finish it even if they worked overtime day and night.

Cao Yuxiu disbanded the logging team and divided the laborers into teams of one to two hundred people. He began to promote road and bridge construction on a large scale in preparation for accepting Chinese immigrants.

Due to its special geographical conditions, Angel Island only needs to build a coastal highway that runs through the entire island.

This main road stretches north and south along the narrow plain along the coast. It is planned to be built 12 meters wide, which can accommodate four large Western carriages running side by side.

The road was lined with trees, milestones and drainage ditches, and with the involvement of nearly 2,000 convicts, it took about two years to complete.

During this period
Cao Yuxiu and his men spent several days traveling to dozens of surrounding indigenous villages, roughly measuring the land and fields, and coming up with a specific plan for setting up Chinese immigrant villages and towns.

All they had to do was wait for the Chinese immigrants to arrive, quickly organize them into villages, and distribute them to the indigenous women on credit before they could begin large-scale farmland planting and production.

The entire process will be completed in just two or three days, after which agricultural production will begin.

According to the excellent environment here, green leafy vegetables can be put on the market in one month, cassava can be mature and put on the market in two months, and rice can be mature and put on the market in three and a half months.

Nowadays, on Palawan Island, no one is allowed to slaughter poultry and livestock except boars. All poultry and livestock such as chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs are kept to lay eggs, hatch chicks, ducklings, geese, and piglets, and reproduce the population.

This speed is very fast. In just one year, the number of poultry and livestock can increase several times. In two years, the total amount can easily increase more than ten times.

At the end of August
A fleet of Fujian ships from Chongming Island arrived from afar, bringing the first batch of more than 5300 Chinese immigrants. Together with the 1400 sword and shield soldiers on the island, they became the first Chinese residents on Palawan Island.

More than 30 indigenous women were quickly divided up, and more than villages and towns welcomed their real masters.

Just two or three days after arriving, a large number of hardworking Chinese immigrants appeared in the fields, began to sort out the land and hurried to cultivate it.

The land cultivated by these early Chinese immigrants was mostly fields that had been owned by indigenous tribes for hundreds of years, although the farmland irrigation facilities were neither complete nor standardized.

Fortunately, it only requires a slight modification, which saves time, effort and worry, and crops can be planted quickly.

These 6700 households alone divided up all the land originally cultivated by the indigenous people and cultivated it without leaving any out. There was a wave of labor enthusiasm everywhere.

Later Chinese immigrants were not so lucky. They had to open up wasteland and farm on their own, carefully comb the land, build irrigation ditches, and slowly make the land fertile.

(End of this chapter)