Chapter 47: Heart Facing the Vast Ocean

  The old man and Gu Xiucai were discussing the purchase of a loom, carefully planning their get-rich-quick scheme. Lin Chunhong was no exception, staring at his one mu three fen land every day, thinking about his get-rich-quick scheme. Suddenly, his gaze fell on the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, attempting to excavate a tunnel.

  In the fertile Sichuan Basin and Jianghan Plain, the Badong Mountain Range rises high. For millions of years, the rolling eastward-flowing Yangtze River has been eroding a river channel through the mountains and valleys. Thus, to the west of Yiling, the Yangtze River winds its way through the vast mountain cliffs.

  Since ancient times, it has been easy to leave Sichuan but difficult to enter. As Li Bai said in his poem, "The road to Shu is harder than climbing up to the blue sky." There are only four roads into Sichuan: one from Shaanxi through Qinling Mountains; another from Xiangyang via Hanzhong; a third from Yunnan and Guizhou; and the last one against the current of the Yangtze River, entering eastern Sichuan. None of these roads is easy to travel, with mountains and ridges along the way, especially the plank roads built on steep cliffs, which are extremely dangerous. In comparison, going upstream along the Yangtze River is a relatively better choice. However, within the Three Gorges, the river flows rapidly and the channel is narrow, making it impossible to sail against the current using wind or oars. All boats traveling upstream must rely on trackers.

  So, in the mountains of eastern Sichuan, you can always hear a low and powerful shout: "Hei yo... hei yo... hei yo..." With each shout, the trackers take one step forward, letting out a low growl. If it were just physical labor, that would be fine. Poor families can make a living without minding the extra physical exertion, but tracking is also a dangerous job. On the rocks, if you don't tread steadily with every step, you'll slip and fall off the cliff, lightly injuring yourself or even losing your life. Since ancient times, the rolling Yangtze River has taken away countless trackers' bodies and tears.

  But now, the sound of chiseling stone echoed through Xiling Gorge. A group of people were suspended high up on the cliff face with ropes, ceaselessly using hammers and iron pikes to chisel at the rocks, hoping to open up a narrow path from the nearby mountain cliff. Not far away, an even louder rumbling sound could be heard - it was the workers burying explosives in the tunnel they had painstakingly excavated, blasting open the massive boulders. These people were Lin Chunhong's laborers. Now that Lin Chunhong had obtained a batch of gunpowder from Datan Fort, he was able to afford such extravagance and use it to blast through the mountains.

  A month ago, Lin Chunhong received a report from Zhang Zhao. The report stated that nearly sixty boatmen under his command had been injured while disembarking and pulling the rope in Rongmei Tusi. This data shocked Lin Chunhong, who decided to invest heavily in excavating a new canal to facilitate contact with Rongmei Tusi and to open up the waterway to eastern Sichuan. He even upgraded the specifications of the canal to allow two oxen to walk side by side. Lin Chunhong hoped that from then on, the laborious task of pulling the rope would be taken over by cattle, horses and donkeys, freeing humans from this heavy physical burden.

  The excavation of the canal was overseen by Wang Liangquan, and Lin Chunhong gave his full support to the project. Need money? No problem! What? Four thousand taels needed? Alright, no problem. Need laborers? Fine, all stonemasons were assigned to the construction team, and another three hundred people were recruited. Need gunpowder? Good, all available gunpowder was allocated to the construction team! The only requirement was that all canals had to be paved with stone slabs to ensure quality!

  In addition, Zhang Zhao did an account for Lin Chunhong. After the construction of the towpath is completed, a special towing team will be established, and each towing team will be responsible for a section of waterway. The boat workers will no longer need to get off the boat to pull the tow rope. This not only saves labor costs but also allows other families' boat teams to pull the tow rope and earn a substantial profit. The huge prospects made Lin Chunhong extremely happy, this is what makes the Yangtze River a golden waterway, if you can't make money from it, what's the point of calling it a golden waterway?

  The temporary plan is to first repair the ropeway to Santingping, and then go up. There are no business plans for now, let's talk about it later. According to Lin Chunhong's plan, the profits earned by the ropeway team will be used to build the ropeway until it reaches Chongqing.

  But Zhang Zhao's report also included a strike incident that gave Lin Chunhong a big headache.

  It happened at Jieheyan in April of Chongzhen 4th year.

  The current Gehou Rock has basically become a commodity distribution center for several major officials, with many merchants coming and going. As soon as the Xilancai brocade and Yongmei green tea from Tusi were launched, they received a warm welcome, and many businessmen came from afar to trade, making the transaction volume of Gehou Rock's warehouse increase day by day. Guo Mingyan even proposed that the charging method of Gehou Rock be compared with Yiling Warehouse, but considering that the scattered transactions of the indigenous people also need a market, Lin Chunhong vetoed this proposal.

  The expansion of the trading market directly led to a rapid increase in the size of the fleet, and most of the former river pirates, except for some who were retained by Zhou Wang, joined the shipbuilding team. Zhao Hehai and Li Mengshen also took charge of a section, still working under Zhang Zhao's command. Zhao Hehai was responsible for the fleets along the Qingjiang River.

  On the dock of Gekkou Rock, all sorts of goods were piled up, and some workers were sorting out the goods. One worker shouted: "Twenty jars of honey, Jingzhou, five days!"

  A man who looked like a steward glanced at the account book in his hand and shouted: "Second-class goods, Class B cargo ship!"

  Then, several workers came over and transported the goods to the designated Class B ships. After Zhang Zhao felt that there was a problem with the transportation of goods, Lin Chunhong sent Li Chongde to assist him in sorting out the goods. After a long period of observation, Li Chongde came up with a method, which was to classify the goods according to their place of origin, destination, and urgency, and divide them into Class A, Class B, etc., and increase the classification as the number of destinations and places of origin increased. He also classified the cargo ships according to their speed, place of origin, and destination, using the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to represent them. In this way, the goods were matched with the cargo ships, and loading and unloading could be carried out quickly, saving a large amount of manpower. This method was simple and easy to implement, and very suitable for Lin Chunhong's current warehouse and team of workers.

  However, this method is not used by Zhao and Hai to manage. His task is to take good care of the fleet, ensure the safety of the fleet and arrive on time. When the fleet is loading and unloading cargo, they have nothing to do. Those who should drink go drinking, those who should visit prostitutes go visiting prostitutes, and no one manages them. Now there are people opening brothels in Geheyan, and business is quite good. It is said that it is Qin Bangding's property, and someone specially reported this matter to Lin Chunhong. After hearing about it, Lin Chunhong smiled and put it aside. His subordinates had a business mind, he was happy but didn't have time to stop them.

  But Zhao Hehai had no interest in drinking these days, and he even lost interest in the first sign of the river rock. He sat with an original water gangster at a high place on the dock, watching the busy workers on the dock. Zhao Hehai's mouth was chewing something, not saying a word, just staring blankly at one place.

  "Niu Da, are you saying we should just spend this lifetime like this?"

  Niu Da smiled and said, "Of course it can't be calculated like that. I haven't even married a wife yet. After this New Year's, I'll have over 30 taels of silver in my hands, and I plan to find a wife in Baili Zhou."

  Zhao He scolded: "De Xing! You're just like a pig!"

  Originally, Zhao Hehai had always been thinking about the vast ocean he used to know. Since joining the Dengzhou Navy, he fell in love with the endless blue waters and the swaying life that came with it. He felt suffocated by his current life, busy with the same tasks every day, living a life without any waves or excitement. This was not the life he wanted. He was used to stimulation and adventure. But Niu Da had never seen the ocean before, how could he understand Zhao Hehai's thoughts? Their conversation didn't match, and Zhao Hehai fell silent again, staring at the small boats on the Qing River.

  After a long while, Zhao Hehai said: "I heard that Second Brother's place has lost three more brothers. They fell off the mountain road while pulling a rope and dropped into the Yangtze River. Not even their bodies were recovered. Alas, at this rate, all of our former brothers will soon be dead!"

  This remark finally struck a chord with Niu Da, who said indignantly: "Does Lin Chong want us former outlaws from the Jiangnan region to all die? The previous emperor didn't treat the heroes of Liangshan like this!"

  Zhaohai didn't quite understand Niudabao's way of thinking, what was all this about? Was Lin Chunhong still afraid that these people would rebel? But Zhaohai had no intention of explaining it to Lin Chunhong, he just let out a deep sigh and said: "Brothers have turned from fierce tigers into water buffalo, how pitiful!"

  Just as Zhao and Hai were sighing, the teacher came over and called out: "Deputy General Manager Zhao, the Yi Chou-class ship going to Jingzhou has finished loading its cargo and can set off!"

  Zhao Hai was in a bad mood and retorted: "I'm not in the mood, we're not leaving today!"

  Master heard, feeling Zhao Hehai was possessed by evil spirits, couldn't help but persuade: "Deputy General Manager Zhao, if this kind of ship doesn't set sail today, it can't arrive in Jingzhou on schedule, this is a major accident, the punishment will be very severe."

  Zhao Haiyi immediately jumped up from the ground as soon as he heard the punishment, scolding: "Punishment, punish your head! You want Lin Chunhong to punish me? All my brothers are dead, and it doesn't matter if I die too. I've long since not wanted to do this job, damn it, like a dog under Lin Chunhong!" After finishing speaking, he left with Niu Dayang.

  The master was furious, but he had just arrived and didn't dare to argue with Zhao Hehai, so he reported the situation to Guo Mingyan. Guo Mingyan did not dare to be careless and immediately sent a message to Zhang Zhao, asking him to come and deal with this matter.

  Just then Zhang Zhuo was at the Duck's Mouth, and upon hearing of this matter, he rushed to the Isolated River Rock overnight. Seeing Zhao Hehai, without saying a word, he ordered his men to bind Zhao Hehai and handed him over to Li Chongde for disposal.

  Lee Chong-dek's duties also included meting out punishments, making him the de facto "judge" of the Lin family group. Lee showed no mercy and sentenced Zhao He-hai to ten lashes and five days of hard labor for dereliction of duty and insulting his comrades.

  After Zhao Haiyang left, he regretted it. He knew that he would definitely implicate Zhang Chao again. Moreover, Lin Chunhong was also on good terms with the original Jiang gangsters and did not owe them anything. When Zhang Chao's men tied him up, he did not make any excuses and calmly admitted his guilt in front of Li Chongde.

  The execution of the flogging was bloody and painful, Zhao Hehai endured it without making a sound. After being flogged ten times, Zhang Zhong could no longer bear it, hugged Zhao Hehai and burst into tears. Crying and sobbing, he said: "Brother, I'm sorry to you, I know you want to go out to sea, but now we don't have the conditions!"

  Zhaohai's eyes were also filled with tears, and he said: "Big brother, it was my fault. I often daydreamed, but I really did think about the life we had before!"

  "What's good about the imperial court's navy? Haven't we suffered enough grievances?"

  "As long as I can go out to sea, I'm willing to do whatever!"

  Zhang Zhao felt even more uncomfortable, he was now married with a wife and had a son, his wife and child were living a comfortable life in Baili Zhou, Zhang Zhao was also very satisfied with the status quo, and did not want to go back to the previous life of living on the edge. Since he and Li Chongde came up with the method of categorizing goods and ships, the transportation efficiency had greatly improved, which made him feel a great sense of accomplishment, and he became obsessed with management innovation. He fully understood Li Mengshen and Zhao Heyi's ideas, the sea was indeed an attractive black hole!

  "Brother promised you, let Lin Dianshi think of a way, see if he can buy an ocean-going ship and let you go to sea!"

  ……

  Lin Chunhong knew that Zhao Hehai and Li Mengshen wanted to go out to sea, and he couldn't help but slam his fist and scold: "Damn it, I've been cheated so miserably! Which expert said that the Han people are a nation that fears the ocean?" Lin Chunhong was furious, thinking that he had been deceived by books in the past. He thought about the era of the Ming dynasty when tens of millions of Han people risked their lives to go out to sea for trade, and countless heroes emerged from the sea. How could they be a nation that fears the ocean?

  "Tian Cheng, quickly send a letter to Zhang Zhao and tell him to hurry up and bring Li Mengshen and Zhao Hehai to see me!"

  Lin Chunhong's madness left Zheng Tiancheng in awe, he hesitated for a moment and reminded: "Buying a sea ship is probably not something that can be done overnight."

  Zheng Tiancheng's words calmed Lin Chunhong down, and after thinking carefully, he felt that he had indeed been too rash earlier. "Let's talk about it after the three of them arrive."

  After finishing, he walked to a world map and stared at it in a daze. This map was copied by Lin Chunhong from the missionary's Qu Shiyu, and it was not accurate, but the general shape of China's coastline and islands were all there, as for whether the proportions were correct or not, Lin Chunhong didn't know either.

  It wasn't until three days later that Zhang Zuo and the others arrived in Zhijiang, their hearts racing with anxiety. Lin Chunhong led them to the edge of the map. As soon as they saw the map, their eyes widened in shock. Zhao Hehai couldn't help but point and gesture on the map before Lin Chunhong could even speak.

  The three of them exclaimed: "Who would have thought this world is so big, our Great Ming is really small!"

  Lin Chunhong pointed to the map and asked, "Now this vast ocean is controlled by Zheng Zhilong, holding the trade routes to Japan and Korea. This part of the ocean is controlled by Liu Xiang, and then this large area is controlled by Westerners. What are your plans? Are you going to go looting or become a merchant?"

  The three of them looked at each other in dismay, unable to believe that Lin Chunhong was so blunt and directly asked about their plans. In fact, Zhao Hehai and Li Mengshen didn't have any plans, they just wanted to go out to sea. They hadn't realized that the vast ocean had already been carved up, leaving no room for individual operators to survive.

  This idea made Zhao Hehai and Li Mengshen feel frustrated, and Zhao Hehai said: "We don't have any plans now either, I don't know what Governor Dian wants us to do?"

  Lin Chunhong appreciated Zhao Hehai's candor and patted his shoulder, saying: "I have always respected people who dare to take risks. In the future, if you have any ideas, just tell me, don't keep them in your belly. I want you to go to Guangzhou for a trip, and then understand the situation of the sea merchants. Then you can give me some advice, as long as I think it's reasonable and beneficial to us, I'll invest more money!"

  Zhao Hehai and Li Mengshen were overjoyed, thanking him repeatedly, while Zhang Zuo's lips moved slightly but he didn't say a word.

  Lin Chunhong asked: "Zhang Zhao, you also want to go out to sea? Ah, if you go, who will take care of my fleet here? I'm really short-handed now."

  Zhang Zhao immediately clasped his fists and said: "I naturally know the difficulties of Dian Shi, this time I won't go, but it's hard to say in the future."

  Lin Chunhong burst out laughing and said: "You three don't decide yet, I'll take you to Baili Zhou to see something first!"

  Lin Chunhong brought Zhang Zuo and three others to Baili Island, after strict identity verification, they entered the shipyard. Zhang Zuo and the others had long known that a ship was being built in the yard, and for secrecy, high walls were erected around the yard, outsiders didn't know what was going on inside. Now they entered the yard, only to see a huge ship before their eyes. The four walked to the dock edge, finding the ship was in its final painting stage, not far from being launched.

  Two Westerners saw Lin Chunhong arrive and hurriedly bowed: "We have seen Magistrate Dian."

  Lin Chunhong hastily said, "You guys go ahead and don't mind me, I just came to take a look." The two Westerners then walked away, continuing their work. These two Westerners were recruited by Ai Ru from Fuzhou, one named Zediya, the other named Fendos, who were Portuguese and Swedish respectively. Originally they were somewhat unwilling, after all, building ocean-going ships was where they could show off their skills, but under the temptation of high pay, they came to Baili Island, planning to work for a while before earning enough money to leave.

  When the two saw the piled-up shipbuilding materials, they were excited and had already thrown away their plans to leave. They wholeheartedly designed a boat for Lin Chunhong. After all, there weren't many places that could store so much wood like Lin Chunhong's place, and these high-quality materials provided them with space to showcase their skills. When the Westerners arrived, Lin Chunhong put forward his requirements: fast speed, high agility, strong defensive capabilities, and powerful firepower, suitable for traveling on the Yangtze River. Zedaria and Fendos designed this boat according to Lin Chunhong's requirements after some deliberation.

  Only this ship stood with two masts as high as fifteen meters, about seventy feet long and twelve feet wide, with more than twenty holes on one side, from which protruded wooden paddles over twenty feet long. In addition to the holes for the wooden paddles, there were three larger holes on one side, which were gun ports, covered with fishing nets to enhance defensive capabilities. There were no portholes set up on the ship to avoid being trapped by fire, and at the bow of the ship was a hidden main cannon, estimated to be a long-range cannon.

  "This ship is just like a centipede, so many legs!" Zhao Hehai said.

  "Haha, Zhao brother's words are really vivid. Alright, this boat will be called the centipede boat. Originally, those two Western guys wanted to install three layers of wooden paddles, but I thought that would require too many sailors, so I only made one layer. Otherwise, there would have been even more legs!"

  "This boat can be so fast, with so many paddles and two masts, there's no faster boat on the Yangtze River!" Li Mongshen always approached problems from a technical perspective.

  "I don't know how fast it will be either, try it out after launching in a few days and you'll know. Guess what I want to use this boat for?"

  Zhang Zhao thought for a moment and said: "Exterminate the pirates on Lake Poyang?"

  "Hehe, you're half right. The lower reaches of the Yangtze River are indeed a place flowing with wealth, and not getting a share would make one feel uneasy."

  "But this ship can't shoot arrows, it can only use cannons. Where did General Dian Shi get the cannons?" Zhang Zhao asked.

  Lin Chunhong spread his hands and said with a bitter face: "Originally, I got a few small cannons from Da Tian, tried them out, but they didn't meet the requirements at all. No choice but to buy some cannons from Westerners. That Tian Cheng fellow made a special trip to Macau, supposedly bought some, but it'll take another month or so for them to arrive. The cannons are fine, but gunpowder is a problem, last time I got several hundred kilograms of gunpowder from Da Tian, don't know how long they can be used."

  "This ship operation is not easy, rowers, sailors, helmsmen, gunners, fire chiefs... wow, so many people, can't lack one, too difficult!" Li Mongshen sighed.

  Lin Chunhong smiled and said: "Get familiar with it slowly, it's not like we're in a hurry to go to war, how about it? Are the three of you interested?"

  Zhao Hai shook his head and said: "I'd still like to go to Guangzhou, to take a look at the sea."

  Zhang Zuo remained silent, while Li Mengshen jumped up and said, "I'd like to give it a try!"

  Lin Chunhong was overjoyed and said, "Alright, you're the captain now. You don't have to go to the shipbuilding team anymore. From now on, live here and follow Zediya and Fendos to learn more. Ask them if you don't understand something. In future battles, it's a matter of life and death. If you don't understand one thing, you might lose your life!"

  "But I have one condition," said Li Mong-shen, "there must be a guarantee of sufficient gunpowder supply. Otherwise, I won't do it. This ship is useless for anything except fleeing without gunpowder!"

  Lin Chunhong patted his head and said: "Throw this difficult problem to me, you can rest assured, I guarantee the supply of gunpowder."