Autumn is coming, but the air in the South China Sea is still hot.

When the fleet sailed to the east coast of central Vietnam, many ships appeared, but they retreated when they clearly saw this huge fleet that they obviously could not resist.

On the ship at this time, in addition to Henry, there was also a Portuguese Goan sailor who was familiar with the nearby routes. His name was Castillo. Although the Truchen people had drawn pictures, with the presence of this man, they avoided many detours.

.

For the Truchen people to defeat the British, Maratha, Burmese, and Bugis armies in succession, especially when they dealt with the opponent's navy as easily and happily as eating and drinking, it would be impossible to say that there was no awe in their hearts.
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You must know that the Portuguese were the first to enter Southeast Asia, and almost all enemies were taken care of by their ships. However, they fought on the Malay Peninsula alone for more than a century, although they were ultimately defeated by the Dutch.

But right now they can't even defeat the Bugis.

But the Truchen people actually sailed and attacked all the way. Not only did they not suffer any losses, they also annihilated all the major forces on the road!

Yes, it is definitely annihilation, not defeat.

"Oh God, are they the chosen ones?"

Castillo is fluent in Hindi, Malay, and even some Cantonese. He is naturally aware of the impact of Zheng He's fleet on South Asia and Southeast Asia centuries ago.

"In other words, they are the new Zheng He fleet. Their language is very similar to that of the capital of the Qing Empire, but their clothing is similar to that of Europeans. No, no, no, they look simpler and less like Europeans.

There are so many decorations”

When Timur saw him standing on the deck silently, with his face shaking slightly, he knew that he was thinking about something.

Then he smiled and said: "Dear Castillo, what do you think we should do to capture the coal-rich Hongji ahead?"

Only then did Castillo come back to his senses. He thought for a while and said: "Your Highness, there is a small bay there, but it is not inhabited at the moment. The bay is surrounded by dense woods. I heard that the French discovered coal here.

Later, our country also sent people to explore, but there were a large number of extremely shallow coal seams."

"Depending on the strength of your country, you might as well go up the Red River when you arrive in Annan Kingdom, go straight to their capital Thang Long City, and then force them to sign a contract or cede or lease the land."

(An Nam Kingdom, the common name of the Le Dynasty in northern Vietnam, the king’s surname is Li, but he is a puppet, and the person in power is surnamed Zheng, Thang Long City, Hanoi)

Timur shook his head, "These places are extremely hot and humid. People in our country are all familiar with the cold. It's fine in ports close to the sea, but if you go deep into the inland, it will be a big trouble. I don't think so."

"Since it's a no-man's land, let's just occupy it directly. In order to avoid losing the news, we will block the news and kill or arrest."

"Build defense facilities and a dock capable of berthing a large number of ships at a favorable position in the bay as quickly as possible, and wait for the Annamites to attack. When they are beaten to a bloody head, they will come to negotiate. Why bother to go to Thang Long City?"

Castillo cursed secretly, but then thought, "Only they can do this. Their fast-firing muskets and artillery are not only crushing the Annamites, but also the new European flintlocks."

Ah"

"Unless An Ren is completely desperate to fill in the name with a person's name. By the way, the king of Annan Kingdom is nominally named Li, but the person actually in power is named Zheng. Do they want to repeat the same tricks as they did in Johor? No, Annan Kingdom

It’s too big, they definitely can’t do it”

Then he expressed his doubts.

Timur smiled and said: "We can do this in Johor because the people of Johor believe in Islam and respect the Sultan very much. The Bugis people can only control them but not kill them, or the time is not yet ripe."

”

"They can only act through the Sultan and Temenggong, and they are either on the islands or on the coast. This is exactly what our country wants, and they can be eliminated without deploying a large number of military forces."

"But that's not possible in the Annan Kingdom. The Zheng family has actually controlled the country for at least a hundred years. The Li family's king lives deep in the palace. The people in the country only know the Zheng family but not the Li family. The wealthy families and the army in the country are also controlled by the Zheng family. Even if

It’s useless to rescue Li Shi”

"Moreover, they are deeply influenced by China. They have certain rules for managing the country and the army. They are not easy to conquer. For our country, all they need is a small place. For them, it will not cause great damage to the national prestige.

”

"When they are in trouble, they will naturally come to negotiate. Haha, I have already predicted the outcome of the negotiation. At most, they will pay a rent every year and sign a lease agreement for a hundred years."

"If the Zheng family doesn't give up, then I will support the Guangnan Kingdom in the south and let it keep attacking the north and make it difficult for them to live in peace."

"Both countries have a large number of navies. As long as I destroy the Zheng family's fleet, the Ruan family in the south can invade their coasts at any time. This one case will make them extremely annoyed, and they will eventually have to sit down.

Negotiation"

Castillo was speechless as he spoke.

In fact, what Timur said was exactly what the Portuguese wanted to do in the past, but unfortunately, they could not do it either with manpower or force.

A few days later, the fleet arrived near Hongji.

Because there were many islands nearby, a Saiyin sailed in along the coastline with Castillo.

In fact, this reflects the Truchen people's full trust in the Portuguese. Although the location of Cat Ba Island is marked on the map, based on the navigation technology and level at this time, they want to cover all the islands in Hon Kei Port.

It is impossible to figure it out and map it out.

If they get in rashly and the enemy sets up an ambush in the waterway because of the narrow water channel and dense reefs, even if the Truchen people have an incredible firepower advantage, they will be helpless.

With Castillo, it was much easier. It was clear where there were reefs and where there were dense water and grass. The ship quickly arrived at Honki Bay - of course, Thanos's return chart only did

There was a mark indicating that a port could be established here and there was coal nearby, but it was not named.

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This name was naturally given by Chitard.

As expected, there was no one in the harbor. The shore was densely covered with trees, and the roar of ships frightened the birds from time to time.

At this time, the Saiyin slowed down, and the surveyors on their ship needed to slowly explore the channel along the bay. Although the French wooden ships had been to this place, it still needed more work for the Truchin battleship, which often had a draft of three to four meters.

Re-exploration.

Soon after the Saiyin sailed into the bay, a small boat was put down on each side of the estuary. There were ten people on each small boat. In addition to eight marines who had experienced in the hot and humid jungles of Bangladesh, there was also a prospector.

Engineer, an animal and plant technician.

The Marines wore non-slip military boots with tight laces and leggings. They carried rifles with three bullets on their bayonets and a six-shot revolver on their shoulders. Each man carried two grenades for protection.

We took two engineers ashore.

After landing, they explored the shore along both sides of the bay.

As you can imagine, in this almost primeval forest, there must be a lot of leeches, mosquitoes, and poisonous snakes, so you need to search carefully before proceeding.

Two Marines also helped two engineers carry observation and exploration equipment. This operation was obviously not fast.

While waiting for the Saiyin to detect the bay, the fleet found a sheltered spot in the middle of the archipelago to the north of Cat Ba Island, lowered its heavy anchor and began to anchor quietly.

Soon, after five days, the Saiyinhao finally came back.

"Your Highness"

The leader of the Marine squadron began to report.

"After we entered, we spent three days measuring it. The sea water near its outlet is quite deep, with the deepest point being nearly 20 meters and the shallowest point being 10 meters. Therefore, it is recommended that the port be located nearby."
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"There are coal seams all around the bay, but according to engineers' exploration, the east side is the best, where the coal seams are extremely wide and extend almost to the seaside."

"The sea water in the north is shallow, with the shallowest point less than three meters, but the depth of the sea water in the northeast corner is generally about five meters, which is just enough to berth my country's large cargo ships and can be set up as a dedicated coal terminal."

"The terrain for about a mile near the bay is relatively gentle, and beyond that there are gradually rising mountains. We have marked several commanding heights where sentries can be set up. With telescopes, we can monitor a radius of about twenty miles."

"Preliminarily found that there are more than a dozen kinds of venomous snakes and more than 30 kinds of insects, at least ten of which are harmful to the human body. We also found groups of monkeys, wild boars, and temporary shacks set up by hunters. Our personnel found two during the inspection.

The hunter, in order not to leak the news, has killed him without using a gun."

"Our personnel have not been lost, and the area with a large amount of seaweed has been temporarily cleared by us."

"Very good", Timur patted the man's shoulder, "There have been several fishing boats passing through the archipelago in the past few days, and they were naturally captured by us."

As a prince, he obviously would not say the word "kill" like the Marines did, but the Truchen people have never been good men and women, so the fate of these fishermen can naturally be imagined.

Under the leadership of Saiyin, the fleet set out again.

There were also a thousand recruits on board, mainly Assamese, Arakanese, and Bengalis. Under the arrangement of engineers and craftsmen led by Suleiman, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Industry, they began the work of clearing the trees on the shore.

The rest of the time is a cliché.

About a month later, Hong Kai Port has begun to take shape.

The port is set on the west side of the exit, because there is a promontory sticking out to block the waves that may come in from the outside.

The coal terminal is located at the northeast corner of the bay. These one thousand recruits also brought their families. Obviously, they cannot farm here, so they became engineering soldiers who are digging coal and training at the same time.

A month later, two rows of walled barracks were formed at the northeast corner of Haikou, and sentries were set up on the commanding heights ten miles away.

After discussing with everyone, Timur decided to leave two battalions of marines and a squadron here, plus the one thousand coal soldiers, so that the situation would be safe for the time being.

The strange thing is that not only the navy from Annan Kingdom has not come over this month, but also the fishing boats and hunters have not been seen.

This is definitely unusual, because places with many islands are also rich in fishery resources. Even if there are no hunters, there will definitely be no shortage of fishing boats.
Chapter completed!