On June 18, 1656, the 170-horsepower Explorer four-masted sailboat of the "Twin-axle Double-scull" had just left Zanzibar. Sailing with her was an expedition ship of the same class and two 1200-ton sailboats affiliated to the Ministry of Immigration. These are immigration ships that are about to travel to the Blackwater area. In the past two years, the new ships placed orders by the Ministry of Immigration have slightly fewer than before. It seems that everyone is a little overwhelmed by the increasingly large-scale immigration transportation mission.

Captain Jiwen, who was the leader, heard the colonial officials discussing when he was in Xinhua Port that the number of immigrants sent to the local area this year is likely to reach 37,000 people after removing the loss (including the intercepted parts of each colony).

"The freight for 37,000 people is not a small amount. How much does it cost to order new ships every year, repair and maintenance costs of old ships, salaries of sailors, maintenance costs of ports along the way, pensions for crew members of sunken ships, etc.?" Second Lieutenant Ji Wen couldn't calculate it, but he felt that the amount must be very large.

In fact, during the immigration transportation season of 1655-1656, the East Coast Republic of China had to spend nearly one million yuan in huge expenses (fortunately not all expenses were paid by the central government, and the central government only paid about 60%, that is, 600,000 yuan, and the rest were spent in kind by the colonies) to protect immigration. The amount was so huge that it was shocking.

Of course, such a huge amount of money is actually worth it in the long run. The country's population increases, the labor force increases, and the market will also expand, which will be of great benefit to the country's industrial and agricultural development. The 37,000 Ming people's immigration and immigrants from other places have been continuously wars in Eastern Europe in the past two years, resulting in large-scale imports of Lithuanian and Ukrainians (mostly women) and new-born people in China. The total population of the East Coast Republic of China has now reached 623,000 (of which the Ming people are about 47%), a record high, and the number of non-nationals has also climbed to a historical highest of 98,000.

The country suddenly increased by nearly 100,000 citizens, which was a bit unbearable for the East Coast, which was not large in size before. In fact, not just this year, when the number of people increased by 70,000 each year, the national strength was already a bit unbearable. Haven’t you seen that the new immigrants who are coming to live in sheds longer and longer, and the cycle of waiting for brick houses (low-interest loans from the Northwest Reclamation Bank) is getting longer and longer. The construction of new settlements is becoming increasingly lagging behind, and the facilities of old settlements are becoming increasingly overwhelmed, and the entire country is in a state of mild indigestion.

Seventy thousand people are like this, and one hundred thousand people are even more unbearable. This year's domestic immigration resettlement work will definitely make the bureaucrats of the Ministry of Immigration, the State Development Administration, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance worry white. Fortunately, the opportunity of the Eastern Europe war is not very common. Taking advantage of the melee of hundreds of thousands of troops involved in multiple countries to gain more population (especially young women), it is indeed a good choice to slowly digest it later. After these two years, we will find ways to reduce the number of European immigrants and increase the share of Far East immigrants (at the same time gradually balance the proportion of men and women). At this time, the national strength has gradually caught up, and it will be almost possible to take a breath, and it will only take a few years of digestion and consolidation.

The three ships supplemented some fruits, vegetables, fresh water and cattle and sheep on Zanzibar. This important island on the Swasili coast is now under the control of the Muscats, and of course it is indirect. The local native chief expressed surrender to the Sultan of Saif, and paid taxes and assumed certain obligations to send troops, but he still made the decision on his own. The people of the East Coast have also dealt with them many times, so after paying a very low entry fee, they were successfully replenished.

Just as they left Zanzibar Island, two naval armed transport ships had just arrived. Captain Jiwen sent someone to negotiate. He learned that the two ships were loaded with various materials (mostly high-value commodities such as sand gold, ivory, leather, pepper, etc.) and about a thousand Swahili slaves were preparing to replenish water here and then heading to Xinhua Port. It is said that the main force of the naval force had already anchored near Kilva at this time, and the officers and soldiers of the Third Battalion of the Army were already attacking the city. Compared to being able to loot enough jealous wealth, of course, if several native city-states or kingdoms could be forced to sign a trade agreement, then everything would be even more perfect.

After paying tribute to the navy's ships, the four-ship formation led by the "Exploration" and "Curiosity" turned to the east north and followed the strong southwest wind toward the Arabian Sea. Their next destination was the Port of Basra of the Ottoman Empire. There is a merchant station opened on the east coast here, with a trade volume of about tens of thousands of yuan each year, mainly importing some dates, horses, camels, tapestries and other things.

On July 1, 1656, after avoiding a storm, the four ships quietly sailed across the Muscat coast. They did not rashly ask for docking in ports. Although the two countries were currently negotiating business matters and then heading towards the Persian Port Abbas opposite the bay. This was Captain Jiwen's temporary decision. He planned to go to see the Muslim port he had visited many years ago, but the stationmaster of the Abbas East Coast Merchant Station, whom he had known, was not here. It is said that he went to Isfahan to discuss business. Therefore, Lieutenant Jiwen could only provide a little water supply here, and then set sail and sailed towards the Basra Port at the northern end of the Persian Gulf. However, the arrival of their four huge ships (relative to ships outside Europe at this time) also cheered the merchant stations on the east coast, making the Persians realize how powerful the East Coast is, and it also has great benefits for the operation of the merchant stations here.

You should know that the business of the ancient civilization of Persia is now increasingly valued by the Executive Committee. This country is a large population and rich, and has a unified regime. It is most suitable to develop trade. However, the East Coast currently imports a large amount of raw silk, livestock and porcelain from this country every year (mainly ceramic tiles, porcelain bowls and a little customized porcelain. For example, Ma Wanpeng ordered a handmade porcelain toilet from Persia), and at the same time exports a large number of arms, textiles, steel bars, and cheap goods, and bilateral trade volume has also hit new highs.

On July 6, four ships arrived outside the port of Basra. After obtaining the consent of the Turks, they entered the port one by one and delivered a batch of goods into the East Coast Merchant Station on the dock. There were many Persian merchants in Basra. After all, this land had just been conquered by the Ottomans for a few decades (many of Iraq's territory was Persian before). A large number of Persian remnants in the Mesopotamian Basin had not been assimilated yet, so the Ottomans stationed a lot of troops here, including some of the cavalry of the Spassi Legion, which was familiar with the East Coast. Some sabers, spears, saddles and other commodities transported by the East Coast were also handed over to them.

After briefly chatting with the city's merchant station manager about the political situation of the Ottoman Empire and the coffee market, on July 8, four ships set sail again, leaving the extremely hot port of Basra, and heading towards the next destination, Galle Port. This time they were sailing along the circulation of the North Indian Ocean, and the wind direction was wrong, so in order to increase the speed, the steam power system also started to operate, and finally arrived at Galle Port, Ceylon Island, which was already controlled by the Dutch, on the morning of July 28.

The Dutch East India Company stationed a large fleet (12 armed merchant ships) here to suppress the Portuguese activities in the East Indies and the Indian coast. It is also responsible for patrolling the Strait of Malacca to prevent invasion of hostile forces. The East India Company is naturally not a hostile force. Because whether the East India Company is willing or not, their government has signed a port opening agreement with the East Coast Republic. Therefore, ships on the East Coast can pass anyway in nearby waters, and after paying the specified amount of fees, they can freely enter any commercial port under the control of the Netherlands for docking.

The four ships were lingering in Galle Port for only two days, and then set sail for Malacca Port. At this time, Malacca had just come out of the plague, with few populations and business declines, which disappointed Captain Jiwen who was inspecting. However, considering that if the East Coast people really set up immigration routes in the future, they would just rest and replenish supplies here, and the requirements for business are not very big, so there is nothing wrong with it.

After leaving Malacca, the four ships turned north and headed straight toward the next destination, Ningbo Prefecture, Dinghai Port. The journey was a surprise. Apart from hiding a typhoon near the coast of Guangdong, they basically encountered no bad weather. The four ships finally arrived at the Dinghai County Wharf at noon on August 18, and then sent people to the shore to Yin County to contact the Southern War Zone Command.

Liu Haiyang was interested in the Executive Committee's plan to test the Indian Ocean immigration/trade dual-purpose route (to reduce immigration costs), but he was not a decision maker. Therefore, at his suggestion, Captain Jiwen and others went north to the Heishui area (and transported several ships of rice and salt) because they heard that Chang Kaisheng, the captain of the new Blackwater Development Team, did not sit in Yantai, but went to the northern Amur River Basin to supervise the battle. Perhaps because there were mostly his old foundation for many years of operation and were able to command it easily.
Chapter completed!