Chapter 582 - 73: 1 Year_2
They can no longer indulge in drinking, nor can they gamble or fight. Once they violate the prohibitions, they will be punished—
Getting whipped doesn’t matter much; what they fear most is confinement.
Having experienced living in a cement hut, no one wants to return to that narrow and cramped place, which is as terrifying as Hell.
...
The rainy season passed, and the dry season arrived.
The third steamship on the island was successfully launched, and on Sunday, this "veteran of the sea" changed his ride for the second time, moving from the Iron Heart to the third steamship.
Due to material constraints, after completing the third steamship, the shipyard ceased operations—
The remaining metal and welding rods were insufficient to support the construction of a fourth steamship.
However, those who were "laid off" from the shipyard did not remain unemployed. They would learn the techniques of constructing sailing ships from the Spanish sailors, then combine them with their previously accumulated shipbuilding experience to create wooden sailing ships with island characteristics.
As they say, "Knowledge comes in succession, and every field has its specialization."
Although the islanders had become competent carpenters and welders under Chen Zhou’s guidance, they still had to consult the Spanish sailors for traditional sailing ship construction.
Particularly the Captain, first mate, and carpenter on the ship, these people understood the structure of the ship best.
Moreover, having lived at sea long enough and accumulated enough experience, their thoughts on traditional wooden sailing ships were even more advanced than those of 17th-century shipyard workers.
With their help, the shipyard workers, who were already technically competent, made significant progress every day.
In less than two months, the island had two new small wooden sailing ships.
During the sunny weather of the dry season, these two small boats could travel to farther seas, bringing rare new varieties of seafood to the islanders. They could also travel between the Big Island and the Archipelago, transporting islanders "returning home for family visits"—
Soon after the Big Island acquired three steamships, under Chen Zhou’s instructions, they took control of all the small islands near the Big Island.
Besides the Big Island, the distant Archipelago comprised five islands.
Three of them were relatively large, with several Native Tribes on them. The other two were smaller and uninhabited, with only sparse trees and bare rocks.
However, those two small islands became a paradise for wildlife due to the lack of inhabitants. One of the islands was a breeding ground for hawksbill turtles, and during the breeding season, the shores of the island were crowded with female hawksbills of all sizes, and their eggs could be dug up with a casual scoop.
The other island was a haven for seabirds, with its rocky mountains stained grey-white by bird droppings.
The bird manure accumulated in the Pigeon Cave on the Big Island had been almost fully used up in recent years for land clearing activities. Chen Zhou planned to send sailing ships to collect bird guano from the seabird island once the resources in the Pigeon Cave were depleted.
After all, the Pigeon Cave was just a corner of the Big Island, and the pigeons’ ability to excrete manure was limited. If they could utilize the bird guano from the seabird island, they wouldn’t have to worry about fertilizer for at least the next ten years.
...
Day by day, various infrastructures on the island became more mature.
One after another, planned stone roads were paved, and the fields changed from "scattered patches" to smooth, rectangular plots connected together.
Waterwheel and Windmill Mill for processing grain were constructed one after another, and canals for irrigation were in the plan.
The small wooden huts of the veterans were renovated and replaced with more spacious wooden and stone structures.
The residences of new islanders were also improved, benchmarked against the veterans’ wooden houses, and now included kitchens and living rooms.
A brick kiln for firing bricks was completed in June 1667, and Chen Zhou promised that it wouldn’t be long before all islanders could live in more solid and beautiful brick houses.
By September, a kiln specifically for firing tiles had also been completed, along with a high furnace for making ceramics.
The glazed ceramics that Chen Zhou had longed for were finally coming to fruition.
However, due to immature technology and insufficient understanding of material properties, the yield of the first few batches of ceramics was very low, and the glaze was not very attractive.
Despite this, ceramics became a new fashionable item on the island, with even distorted ceramic vases fetching a high price of around 100 coins.
Whether it was the zebra or the emerging new elite with the establishment of various small factories on the island, all were willing to pay for the Leader’s new measures.
Although Chen Zhou appeared less and less in the public eye, it did not affect the people recognizing who the true ruler of this island was.
...
Chen Zhou initially thought the year would pass like this.
With 20 years of challenges left, he was not in a hurry.
If he hadn’t wanted to find a mate for Lai Fu while it still had breeding capability, he wouldn’t have spent so much effort researching wooden sailing ships.
His original plan was that if Kilian came to the island, he could capture this experienced Captain who had influence in Europe and South America and force him to send subordinates to bring mineral resources and female dogs.
But these old hands who were renowned on the sea were even more cunning than foxes.
Kilian swallowed his anger when a large batch of treasures was stolen. Captain Monidez, who was said to be very irritable and arrogant, had also gone quiet, neither sending ships over nor daring to even observe from a distance.
This left Chen Zhou with no options—
Of the three armed merchant ships sent by Monidez, two were heavily damaged and sunk, the only remaining ship barely returned to port, but was also seriously damaged.
Although it has been barely repaired now, it has lost its ocean-faring capability, and if it encounters a storm at sea, it’s highly likely to "relapse" and send the lives of the entire crew to the depths of the ocean.
The three steamships, limited by fuel, could not go far, and the newly built small wooden sailing ships were easily capsized by storms.
Besides, the islanders were not competent sailors. Once they enter the vast ocean, they would get lost, with no experience in dealing with maritime storms.
Even if they took Spanish sailors as "human compasses" and reached Spain or Brazil, they wouldn’t be able to engage in normal trade negotiations with locals, let alone find dogs, coal, and iron ore.
Many things require the local connections to resolve, and Chen Zhou was even worried that these inexperienced islanders would end up being tricked by contemporary sea traders.
The construction technology of wooden sailing ships, derived from traditional Spanish armed merchant ships, won’t have much impact if leaked, but if steamship technology fell into the hands of Spaniards, British, or Dutch, the consequences could be disastrous.
The first industrial revolution, starting more than 100 years early, could lead to the early appearance of the spinning jenny, steam locomotive, and steamship on the world stage.
The bourgeoisie might establish their dominance over the world from this point onward.
If the already declining Qing Dynasty fell 100 years further behind, the fate of Hua Xia might be much more than the humiliation of the late Qing and even lead to a potential downfall.
For various reasons, even until the second half of 1667, Chen Zhou still didn’t send a fleet for long-distance voyages, focusing his efforts on island development.
Unexpectedly, near the year’s end, a surprise visitor arrived at sea—Kilian.
...
Fearful of an attack by this mysterious force, Kilian deliberately purchased a medium-sized sailing ship.
This type of ship couldn’t hold much cargo or many cannons, so it had limited firepower, but it was fast and agile, often used by pirates.
Having never witnessed the speed of steamships, Kilian staked his life on this boat.
However, to his utter surprise, as soon as he entered the archipelago’s waters and before reaching the island where the sailors disappeared, he was surrounded by three peculiar steel ships.
Not daring to show any weapons, Kilian shouted hoarsely in Spanish, expressing that he had no malicious intent, only then being escorted all the way to the Big Island.