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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 488: Quanzhou Harbor

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    In the spring of March, the northern country may still be experiencing a cold spring, but the sun is already shining brightly in the south. Quanzhou Port looks particularly vicissitudes of life under the gentle sea breeze and warm sun.  Quanzhou Port was called Citong Port in ancient times. It was the starting point of the ancient Chinese Maritime Silk Road and the largest port in the ancient Chinese world.  It is a harbor located on the coast of the lower reaches of the Jinjiang River in the southeast of Quanzhou, extending to Quanzhou Meizhou Bay Nei'ao in the north and Lianhe River in Tong'an District, Weitou Bay, Quanzhou in the south.  It has superior port resources and a total coastline of 541 kilometers. It is one of the three major ports in Fujian Province.

    Although the Quanzhou Port in history was once very beautiful, the wars in the late Southern Song Dynasty and the Yisibaxi Rebellion in the late Yuan Dynasty gradually made it lose its former glory. In the Ming Dynasty, the Forbidden Sea and Shipping Department moved to Fuzhou, making it gradually disappear.  On the road to decline, the Qing Dynasty's move to Jinghai and isolation from the country completely wiped out the former prosperity of Quanzhou Port.

    Just when the people of Quanzhou thought that Quanzhou Port would never shine again, the Taiping Army came.  At that time, Quanzhou was guarded by General Lu Chaoan of the Qing Army's Dubiao Zuoying in Fujian Province. He was originally from Xiangshan, Guangzhou, and his family was rich in business. He was born as a Jinshi in the fourth year of Xianfeng, and then donated a guerrilla official position. Finally, he came to Fujian, where he donated money and food.  Due to his meritorious service, he was promoted to the rank of general by Fujian Governor Li Tingyu and was responsible for guarding Quanzhou.

    Although this person is a martial arts scholar, he prefers doing business and is quite good at camp, but he will never fight to the death.  When the Taiping Army Li Kaifang's troops were pressing down on the border, Li Tingyu retreated to Xiamen, leaving Quanzhou alone. Lu Chaoan had only three thousand soldiers in his hands, so he chose to surrender in Kaicheng.

    Lu Chaoan had almost squandered his family wealth in pursuit of official position. His parents died early and he had no relatives in Xiangshan. Therefore, when Li Kaifang recruited him, Lu Chaoan joined the Taiping Army.

    He was not the first Qing general to defect to the Taiping Army.  Not the last one, but the most comfortable one.  After joining the Taiping Army, Li Kaifang did not appoint him to lead the army. Instead, he gave him the position of magistrate of Quanzhou County and told him to run Quanzhou Port well.  Maritime trade can be resumed.

    So Lu Chaoan used his business acumen to organize fishermen to rebuild seagoing ships, build additional docks, repair seawalls, and restart maritime trade with Ryukyu.  After more than a year of hard work, Quanzhou Port has not returned to its former glory.  But it is no longer a dead port overgrown with grass.

    Today, there are three port anchorages in Quanzhou Bay: Shihu Port, Neigang Port, and Houzhu Port. The caravans and sea-going ships from the mainland trading with Ryukyu have filled this area to the brim.  Not far away, the port anchorages of Huajin and Xiutu are still under construction.

    In addition to Lu Chaoan¡¯s contribution to the rapid development of Quanzhou Port, the Taiping Army¡¯s use of troops in Fujian was also a factor.  War often brings destruction, but there are exceptions. Quanzhou Port is an example.  Because it was surrender.  Quanzhou was basically not damaged. Then the Taiping Army and the Qing Army started a tug-of-war in Xiamen. In addition, Fujian was mountainous and it was inconvenient to transport money, food, ammunition and materials needed for the front line, so Fujian began to increase shipping supplies. Quanzhou Port¡¯s shipping was in this environment  developed rapidly.

    But today¡¯s Quanzhou Port is different from the past. There are many more navy warships and sea-going ships transporting various supplies.  In the harbor, soldiers and horses from the newly formed Third Division of the First Army stationed in Fujian came here to board the ship.

    Logically speaking, Lu Chaoan should be familiar with the soldiers and generals of this third division.  Lu Chaoan surrendered to them and handed over Quanzhou back then.  But more than a year later, the division commander at that time had been replaced, many lower-level generals had been promoted, and Lu Chaoan no longer recognized many of them.

    Standing on the pier of Shihu Port, Lu Chaoan sat on a pony. The attendant beside him handed over a hookah, and Lu Chaoan puffed away the smoke calmly.  Zhang Wenxiang, commander of the Third Division on the side, frowned and said: "Master Lu, our division must complete the boarding the day after tomorrow, and the required supplies must also be loaded on the ship, but look at it now. The dock is crowded with merchant ships, and there are delays.  Can you afford the punishment for military affairs?"

    Lu Chaoan pressed his palm leisurely a few times and said: "Mr. Zhang, please be patient. I promise you will be able to take the boat the day after tomorrow. Come on, sit down and taste my fresh tobacco leaves. To be honest, you guys  I still can¡¯t get used to smoking that cigarette.¡±

    Zhang Wenxiang sat angrily on the horse next to him, but he still looked majestic and murderous, very military-like. He shouted loudly: "Master Lu, it's hard to be convincing with your cynical appearance! Remember,  , if our Zhao Zilong division cannot leave the team on time, I will definitely settle the score with you!"

    The Zhao Zilong Division is the nickname of the Third Division. The Third Division has always been brave in battles. After Zhang Wenxiang, a general who was the commander of the cavalry regiment, became the division commander, the Third Division fought even more fiercely, so it became the Zhao Zilong Division.  It is said that when the King of the West mentioned the Third Division of the Fujian First Army, he always called it "Zhao Zilong Division" instead of its serial number.

    "Zhang Wenxiang led the cavalry to fight in Fujian and made outstanding achievements. He was quickly promoted and is now the commander of the third division.  This time I receivedThe general ordered the Third Division to board the ship at Quanzhou Port the day after tomorrow, that is, before March 9, and head south. Zhang Wenxiang specially led his troops to Quanzhou Port to board the ship one day early, but he did not expect that Wan Yu's troops would still be there today.  They waited at the shore station, but still could not board the ship. In a hurry, they came to Quanzhou County Magistrate Lu Chaoan to argue.

    Lu Chaoan smiled and said: "Mr. Zhang, maybe I'm not as good as you in fighting, especially with this kind of Western firearms. But when it comes to playing port and shipping, you have to listen to me. The port has limited capacity.  , when I received the official document, the port was full of commercial goods. If these goods are not emptied first, there will be no place for your soldiers and supplies in the port, right? Don't worry, this is the last batch of merchant ships, they have been emptied.  After the goods are accumulated in the port, there will be room for you to load the ship. Shipping at the port cannot be messed up. If the rhythm and order are messed up, it will delay the time. "

    After hearing this, Zhang Wenxiang's anger became less intense, but he still said loudly and resolutely: "Master Lu, the military order is like a mountain. You'd better do what you say, otherwise we will end up in a military court together!" After that!  He walked away.

    Lu Chaoan chuckled, and said with a tepid smile to his servant: "This Qiu Ba's temper is really interesting."

    Zhang Wenxiang heard it, but he endured it and prepared to write an official document to complain to the Ministry of War when he went back. This guy Lu Chaoan was really outrageous and showed signs of dereliction of duty.

    After returning to the station.  Zhang Wenxiang returned to the headquarters tent angrily. When he saw the division commander looking unkind, several staff officers who were sorting out battle plans and drawings were too frightened to speak out.  However, the instructor Zheng Yantuo brought him a cup of hot tea and said with a smile, "Are you looking for Lu Chao'an?"

    Zhang Wenxiang said angrily: "This guy has a typical air of a pure demon and an old official. He does everything carelessly. Our division may miss the date of demobilization!"

    Zhang Wenxiang was promoted to division commander.  After Zheng Yantuo was transferred to the Second Division and served as the division chief of staff for a period of time, he was recently transferred to the Third Division as an instructor. He was an old partner with Zhang Wenxiang and knew his temper. He smiled slightly and said: "Quanzhou Port is not  It's a small place, and last year it made millions of taels of silver from its trade with Ryukyu. Lu Chaoan was able to achieve today's scale in a desolate and abandoned port, he is not as unbearable as you said. "

    Zhang Wenxiang was stunned for a moment and said: "Then why do I see him leisurely smoking hookah, drinking tea and admiring the scenery at the port, instead of busy directing the ships in the port to ship and unload goods?"

    Zheng Yantuo laughed dumbly and said: "Didn't we also arrange the battle plan and wait for news in the headquarters? Don't you, a division commander, have to go to the front to command a company in combat?"

    Zhang Wenxiang said unconvinced: "But it can't be like this."

    Zheng Yantuo smiled and said: "Lu Chaoan is irritating you. He was a general back then and was forced to surrender to our third division. He is irritating you on purpose."

    Zhang Wenxiang was stunned and asked: "Is he so narrow-minded?" Zheng Yantuo chuckled and said: "He is a businessman with strong habits. What he pays attention to is repaying debts, and he will naturally get it back if he loses face. But don't worry,  He will definitely not miss our schedule."

    At night, Zhang Wenxiang was still unable to sleep while lying on the camp bed. When he heard the crowd outside gradually becoming louder, he jumped up, grabbed his sword and short gun, rushed out of the tent and shouted, "What's going on?"

    The guard at the door replied: "I don't know about the division commander. There are many people outside holding torches and going to the dock."

    When Zhang Wenxiang still wanted to ask, a battalion commander who was on guard sent a messenger and hurried over to report: "Commander, there are tens of thousands of strong Quanzhou people holding torches heading to the dock. I don't know what happened."

    At this time, Zheng Yantuo also arrived. Zhang Wenxiang pulled him without saying a word and said: "Let's go, take the two companies to the dock to have a look."

    When the two of them rushed to the dock with two companies of troops, they saw Lu Chaoan wearing a big cloak and standing under the warehouse archway not far away. At this time, it started to drizzle in the sky. The man was holding an oil paper umbrella and Lu Chaoan stood there.  With a calm face, he watched the endless stream of young and strong people rushing to the dock.  Then they formed several teams, lining up from the warehouse to the cabin of the dock, and then the goods in the warehouse began to be transported to the ship like flowing water.

    This mode of transportation is different from the coolies transporting goods to the ship piece by piece during the day, and the efficiency has suddenly increased several times.  The young and strong people shouted loudly, and torches were stuck on the wooden fence beside them.  More than ten thousand torches illuminated the entire Shihu Port.

    Zhang Wenxiang stared dumbfounded for a long time. It was not until Zheng Yantuo pulled him to Lu Chaoan that he came back to his senses and said, "Master Lu, what kind of formation are you putting up?"

    Lu Chaoan stood up and bowed his fist to Zhang Wenxiang and said: "Mr. Zhang, the people of Quanzhou have always been grateful for the kindness of the Kingdom of Heaven. If it weren't for the Kingdom of Heaven, Quanzhou Port would have been abandoned like this, and the people would have no good way to make a living.The arrival of the country has brought good days to everyone.  So in fact, during the day, I called on the young and strong people in the city to prepare to ship the supplies overnight. It really couldn't be shipped during the day. The goods in the port were all contracted. We, the Heavenly Kingdom, cannot break the promise of the small Ryukyu country's trade.  Is not it?  "

    Zhang Wenxiang responded with an apology: "I'm sorry, Mr. Lu, my tone during the day was not good either."

    Lu Chaoan chuckled and said, "I was angry with you on purpose. It was also a breath of ill-will that I had when I surrendered. Haha."

    The three of them looked at each other and laughed, and a storm was over.  Then that night, all the equipment and supplies of the Third Division were boarded overnight. The next morning, the horses of the cavalry regiment boarded the ship, and in the afternoon, the soldiers boarded the ship. The whole process was orderly and well-organized, which shows Lu Chaoan's talent.

    In the early morning of March 9, Zhang Wenxiang and Zheng Yantuo were the last to board the ship, and they bid farewell to Lu Chao'an.  Looking at the fleet that was gradually retreating under the escort of dozens of navy red single-ship warships, Lu Chaoan murmured to himself: "We are going to attack Guangzhou. It seems that the kingdom of heaven will expand its territory this year. Back then,  The bet on the treasure is correct"
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