"What? Are there pirates coming to attack us?" Xiao Mingli shouted with some disobedience.

"Yes." Gao Mo nodded heavily, "The news that Captain Kuait heard when he was mooring and repairing ships in Guyana. Actually, it was not a pirate anymore. To be precise, some smuggling merchants, some French smuggling merchants who were interested in our porcelain but were unwilling to pay."

"Why are you coming to beat us?" Xiao Mingli still didn't digest the news.

"Not everyone wants to do business in a proper manner." Wang Qinian said coldly, "We have porcelain, and it seems that there are quite a lot of people. Such a high profit is not enough to resist. It is this Kuait. If we didn't know how much we are, and if he wants to monopolize the profits of porcelain trade, I think he would have the same idea as those French merchants."

"Lao Gao, is this news reliable?" Ma Ganzu asked seriously, "This matter is very important because it means the adjustment of our work focus in the next period of time."

"Captain Kuait told me that this news is not a secret in Guyana and Pernambuko. This fleet of French merchants (or pirates) has gathered two large ships, and they are still waiting to see if more people are willing to join. But no matter what, they will go south when the trade winds rise in the latest in January. We must be prepared. There is another good news in the bad news, that is, these robbers know nothing about our strength." Gao Mo also replied with a serious face.

"I think we must take this matter seriously." Ma Ganzu pondered for a while and said, "We would rather believe that it is not trustworthy than that it is not. We cannot afford to bet. The army and the navy must start preparing for war in advance. The existing projects must be reviewed comprehensively, and work must be temporarily suspended unless necessary. Resources must be concentrated to serve possible wars. In addition, I propose to convene a general meeting in advance." After that, Ma Ganzu raised his right hand. The general meeting was once a year and held in December every year.

Soon, eleven members of the Executive Committee raised their hands one after another to agree.

After the Executive Committee determined the policy, it immediately began to convey the message to every corner and notify every representative of the general assembly (i.e., all the crossing members...). At the dock, on the fishing boats, in farmlands, in stables, brick caves, workshops, on the mail towers, and in front of the fort, every crossing member who received the notice rushed back. Of course, each unit also left the necessary guards. The crossing members of Dingyuan Fort organized a team of dozens of people to rush back by boat. Of course, this team was authorized by the representatives of everyone in Dingyuan Fort.

This is the second temporary or early plenary congress of the time travelers. The last time was when the Orange River suddenly broke into the Dayu River in the first half of the year.

The conference hall was close to the residential area and the lighting was not very good. More than 400 people were squeezed into the small conference room, which suddenly seemed a little crowded. Liu Weimin, the director of the general congress who had not appeared in front of everyone for a long time, personally presided over the meeting. Liu Weimin first briefly introduced the topics of today's meeting, and then the heads of various departments carried out in detail.

The previous topics are nothing more than the work summary for this year, the work plan for the next year, etc. Everyone has passed by. Soon, today's drama is coming, and the Chairman of the Executive Committee Ma Ganzu proposed a proposal to prepare for war to deal with possible attacks.

This proposal immediately detonated the venue. This was the first time that the travelers really faced external threats. The fierce discussion lasted for a full half hour, and then the vote began.

This time travelers obviously shared the same hatred for the enemy. Almost all of the more than 400 people who attended the scene voted in favor and the proposal was approved.

On November 17, Captain Kuait returned to Amsterdam with 316 sets of porcelain after paying an additional cash worth 100,000 Dukat, while the travelers began their crazy pre-war preparations.

The first thing is to count his own war supplies. Including the supplies brought by Captain Kuait this time, the Crossing Club currently has 10 24-pound guns, 12 18-pound guns, 10 12-pound guns, 8 8-pound guns, 2 6-pound guns, 4 4 4-pound guns, and 4 3-pound guns, and a total of 50 guns of various types.

There were enough artillery numbers, but skilled gunners were in a hurry. There was no way, while the crossing people continued to install large-caliber naval guns of more than 12 pounds to the three turrets of the port, they also began to train more gunners. In addition, former gunners among the immigrants were also focused on. The Executive Committee promised that as long as they participated in this possible war, they would immediately obtain the identity of a free citizen and have a generous reward after the war was over. Even if the war did not break out, they would receive a considerable amount of bonus.

In this way, when the Port Fortress Guard was established on November 18, there were only more than 100 experienced gunners, and there were only sixty or seventy people in the crossing. Fortunately, there was still some time now, and the crossing people recruited a large number of new gunners from the immigration to start training.

In addition to artillery, the fortress garrison also has an infantry expanded based on the security troop, with a tentative organization of 250 people. This unit has 200 Surf clamps, 50 new dog lock brake muskets (early flintlock rifles), and several high-precision hunting crossbows.

This army was established to guard the city and the fortress, with the main members of the travelers and the first batch of Swiss immigrants. These immigrants have been here for more than half a year, and their loyalty is much higher than the subsequent batches. Of course, the reputation of pirates has always been very poor, and killing them is their favorite thing to do. I believe that no sensible person will go to pirates.

Currently, the population of "Tartan Port" and Dingyuan Fort is 1,985, of which 568 travelers. Among the previous immigrants, 182 Swiss immigrants (1 dead) are relatively reliable; the second Finnish and Livornian immigrants are 227, which are basically reliable; the third, fourth and fifth immigrants are numerous, and the time is still short, so the influence of travelers is still very weak.

Of course, weak influence does not mean that there will be any problems for them. After all, they are all poor people who cannot survive in the old continent. They come to the new continent just to have a good meal. The time travelers did not treat them badly in this regard. In addition, the enemy this time is a notorious pirate, so there is no need to worry that someone will turn against the clan or turn against the enemy in the face of the battle.

The wall surrounding the main urban area was built two months ago. The brick wall as thick as 1.5 meters can withstand the bombardment of most army light guns. The three city gates in the south, north and west are solid oak gates, with iron outlines and certain protection capabilities.

The artillery on the turret was installed. The horses across the board pulled people to carry it, and they forced one cannon to be installed in the gun position. After some effort, by the end of November, the firepower of the three turrets was strengthened. Among them, the main turret No. 1 had super strong sea firepower of 10 24-pound cannons, 4 18-pound cannons and 2 12-pound cannons; the second turret has 4 18-pound cannons and 4 12-pound cannons; the third turret also had 4 18-pound cannons and 4 12-pound cannons.

These artillery are installed in semi-enclosed bunkers, each corresponding to an area. As long as a large number of test fires are carried out in advance and the performance and design parameters of each artillery are clear, it will be very sad when the enemy fleet arrives.

In addition to sea-attack cannons, the three turrets also installed many land defense artillery positions. These artillery positions are mainly equipped with light artillery for the army, but the number is not large. The remaining army artillery is installed on the heads of the city gates and used to deter the enemy's infantry.

Since that day, gunfires have been rumbling all day long on the docks of "Tartan Port". The gunners are conducting live ammunition training and measuring various shooting parameters. At this time, the executive committee feels sorry for the money, which is a pity. The gunners are like gunners, and they are fed by shells. The more they train in normal times, the more accurate they can fight in war.

The three-year-old full-body armor has begun to be fully manufactured. At present, the weapon workshop can make almost 70-collar armor in a month. With some inventory, by January, it is conservatively estimated that the number of armor can be more than 150. This armor that can prevent the shooting of convex guns from a long distance is deeply loved by travelers and immigrants. It can have an extra piece of life-saving equipment, which will greatly improve the morale of the troops.

On November 20, the 150 acres of potatoes outside the city were harvested, and a total of nearly 300,000 kilograms of potatoes were harvested.

Although it was on the eve of the war, the Executive Committee did not delay agricultural production at all. The new 400-acre potato fields were planted one after another in the following week.
Chapter completed!