The snow was falling even harder outside, and under the storm of the violent northwest wind, it even drilled into people's collars. Imamura Yoshinosuke and some of his entourage boarded a low Japanese tower ship. After saying goodbye to Mo Ming and others, they sailed south and returned to the Hokkien land.

In the harbor where Japanese ships left, three sailing transport ships were also carrying out intense material shipments. Dock workers braved the heavy snow like goose feathers to carry buckets of frozen hard meat onto the ship. These meats were acquired by the East Coast people from some nearby natives and slaughtered by themselves. Most of the meat was the cattle they raised, and a small part was large animals such as wild boars and mooses obtained by hunting. The East Coast people cherished these hard-earned animal meat very much, and they were properly preserved, and they refused to waste any nutrition.

Although Yantai Fortress has sent more than 3,000 Ming refugees to the rear in two batches, with the arrival of winter, the number of refugees who are short of food and clothing has continued to increase. According to a recent report, the number of refugees stranded in Zhifu Island has reached an astonishing 5,500. Xiao Xi, the company commander of the 102nd Company of the Army, who is currently in charge of the affairs there, has issued a warning to Heishui Port that they are seriously insufficient in terms of grain reserves and cold-resisting materials, and urgently need support here. Although they have reclaimed a large area of ​​wasteland near Dagujiahe this year and implemented sweet potatoes and corn planting, they found that the yield was too low when they harvested a while ago. Less than 2,000 acres of land, they only harvested about 350 tons of grain.

This yield is even worse than the Xinhuaxia region, which is known as barren land, which is a disappointment. After the grain harvest was completed, Xiao Xi took a look at the stored grains he had. He found that including the hundreds of tons of grain transported from the local area and the large amount of Korean grain robbed, the stocks in Yantai Fortress have so far less than 450 tons. Such a small amount of grain is really not much for the current 50,000 and 60,000 people in Yantai Fortress. It is only enough for them to last for about three months.

The conclusion that lasted for three months was based on the fact that the current population was no longer increasing. But the fact is that the population of Yantai Fortress has been increasing, which is undoubtedly the point. The soldiers watched a large number of refugees who were helping the elderly and young to come to Yantai Fortress to beg for food. Without the new order, they did not stop these poor people, but still took them to the Zhifu Island area behind the fortress according to the instructions of their previous superiors.

Therefore, as the Bohai Bay freezing period approaches, Xiao Xi had to urgently ask Heishui Port for help and ask for a batch of grain to come. But the problem is that Mo Ming’s own grain is not very enough. Currently, there are about 1,400 tons of potatoes, 100 tons of wheat and about 700 tons of various salted fish in Heishui Port and Lishi Island. In addition, there are some moose, wild boars and other slaughtered, but the number is relatively small, and the total is only 300 tonnes. Currently, there are nearly 5,000 people in Heishui Port and about 500 people on Lishi Island. The food consumption of these people is not a small amount. You must know that Heishui Port and Lishi Island can only plant one season of crops a year, and the next time the grain harvest will be at the fastest time until July and August. There is still more than half a year in between, and everyone can only rely on the previous grain storage.

However, the only benefit of Heishui Port is that it will soon send about 2,500 people to Jinshan Port, Australia, which can greatly reduce local food consumption. Therefore, after careful consideration, Mo Ming decided to mobilize 700 tons of potatoes, 400 tons of salted fish and some newly slaughtered meat from Heishui Port to Yantai Port while it was not frozen.

In addition to these grains, several ships also loaded with many coal gangue, peat and other things removed from coal washing plants, and were transported to Yantai Port as winter heating fuel. As for the cold-proof materials that Xiao Xi mentioned, I'm sorry, it's really gone! There were too many supplies that needed to be carried when he came from the local area. The cold-proof coats in the cabin were already limited, and they had been distributed all of them long ago, so there was nothing extra. After everything was done, Mo Ming took more than a hundred newly recruited natives from Sakhalin Island to board the armed transport ship of the "Businessman" and the "Baobab" full of bricks toward Yantai Port.

On October 24, 1643, under the strong northwest wind, they only took more than three days to arrive at the Pier Pier of the Yantai Port in the North Yellow Sea. At this time, it was also cold sleet in Yantai, as if they were welcoming them in their own special way. A group of North Korean sticks in cotton coats immediately ran out of the warm shack led by Jinwu Kyu, and then began to unload the goods in a hurry.

When a bucket of fish was unloaded, even though the "vicious" East Coast people were beside them, the North Korean dock workers couldn't help but cheer. The lack of food in the camp was not a secret in everyone's eyes, especially when the number of Ming refugees was increasing day by day. At this time, a large amount of food was sent to them, including many fish, which made everyone not envious.

It was a pity that the fresh milk produced by the cattle and horses in the camp was given to officials and women and children, and some of the livestock meat that was slaughtered occasionally also entered the stomachs of these people. Those who worked could only drink some bone-made soup. Although this was much better than in North Korea, who didn't want to eat meat? Now that there is such a large amount of fish and meat, everyone can share it.

After sending Jinwu Kei over to flatter him, Mo Ming walked on the muddy road wearing high-plated horse boots, shook hands with Xiao Xi who came to greet him, and then said, "Download the goods quickly, and then store the food well. After unloading the goods, the fleet will leave and return to Yuanbo Port of Rishiri Island for winter. In addition, the Hei Shui Port also needs to transport 2,500 people to Jinshan Port in front of the sea ice-filled port. The time is tight, so let them move faster and don't delay for several days. The weather is so cold, who knows when the port will freeze."

Xiao Xi nodded, then gave Jinwugui a few words carefully, and then said to Mo Ming: "I heard that our fishing industry has a bumper harvest this year. Haha, brother, I can also get your weight and get some salmon to try. I heard that this fish has a high fat content and is very nutritious. It is not easy to get hungry after eating it. If you have the strength, I have to try it."

"I'm almost vomiting when you eat it." Mo Ming smiled bitterly and said, "Salmon, saury, Far East Sardines, Cypress, and Squid, all you have, until you feel nauseous. Look, there are a few boxes over there for them to be careful. They contain canned glass, and the canned food is filled with salmon caviar, which I specially left for you."

"Hehe, thank you, that's thank you." Xiao Xi was happy when he heard this, "Will you stay here next, or go to Rishiri Island or Blackwater Port?"

"Let's stay here." Mo Ming tightened his alpaca coat tightly and said, "The Blackwater Port has already been on track. I entrusted everything to Sergeant Johnson. He has been in charge of the place for a year and there is no problem. Then continue to manage it. Lishiri Island is currently managed by Li Yi, but he will take three sailboats to carry 2,500 Ming people to Jinshan Port, Australia. There are basically a few left-behind sailors there."

Among the three thousand refugees sent to Hei Shui Port from here a while ago, except for 2,500 people who were going to Australia by boat, the remaining about 500 remained at Hei Shui Port. This was mainly because their health was so bad. Letting them sail to Australia at this time was simply a death sentence, so Mo Ming simply let them settle down and stay in Hei Shui Port, but it was obvious that a considerable number of them would still be unable to survive this cold winter and die.

"Now the weather is getting colder, and there will be heavy snowfall in the future, and the number of refugees should be smaller. However, it will be troublesome after spring. At that time, the fields were not connected. It is a high probability that a large number of refugees will be generated in Deng, Lai and Qing. We must prepare for a surge in refugees." Mo Ming walked into the only brick and stone house in the fortress, sat by the fireplace, and said while roasting the fire: "So, we still have not enough food at present, and we have to find a way."

Xiao Xi, who followed him into the house, naturally understood what Mo Ming meant, but the bad winter weather in Dengzhou could prevent people from any ambitions. At this time, the risk of labor troops on an expedition is quite high. If you don’t do it well, you will suffer a large-scale reduction in staff due to bad weather.

"I won't go far." Mo Ming glanced at him and said, "Just go around nearby. Fushan County, Ninghai Prefecture, Wendeng County, and Pingdu Prefecture, don't worry, you just go to the countryside to make grass valleys and guard against strong cities. Of course, there is no defense for strong cities. In short, I just brought some soldiers to smash the villages of the gentry in the countryside and rob some grain back. These gentry are all for wealthy and unkind dogs. They stock up on all the grains they have, but they stock up on high prices, without considering the lives of ordinary people. Of course, even if they lower the price, those bankrupt refugees still can't afford it. In short, the world is now rotten, and I can't take care of so many, so I just robbed the gentry under my nose."

"Why don't you buy it from them?" Xiao Xi asked in a little bit. Although he knew that these gentry would be the ones who would invest in Tartars in the future, he still didn't want to break the relationship.
Chapter completed!