Chapter 98: Basalt

The Yuan Dou set sail at dusk. After departing from Dayuan, she headed straight west, making directly for the Penghu Islands lying in the middle of the strait.

This was the final stretch of the active northeast monsoon season. In a few more days, as the temperature dropped further, the northwest monsoon blowing down from Siberia would gradually come to dominate the wind direction along the mainland coast.

Riding the last of the northeast monsoon, the Yuan Dou sailed leisurely through the night. By the time the first pale light of dawn appeared in the east, the silhouette of the Penghu Islands was just coming into view.

Thanks to the application of various technological equipment, the Crossing Faction enjoyed an enormous environmental advantage in the New World. Whether on land or at sea, darkness was the Transmigrators' friend. Night sailing, timed to perfection, meant that the laborers who had rested all night in the cabins could arrive just in time to start work in the early morning.

The Yuan Dou's objective on this trip was the basalt of the Penghu Islands.

"I can't figure out what you guys are thinking, insisting on coming all the way out here to haul rocks." The Yuan Dou's captain, Mu Longcheng, wore a navy-blue Type 07 Navy Officer Uniform, his leather shoes polished to a gleaming shine, and major's epaulettes bought off Taobao on his shoulders. The handsome middle-aged man had the brim of his peaked cap pulled down low, striking the dark image of a shadowy mastermind pulling the strings.

Also standing at the bow, striking a breathing-exercise pose between the morning glow and the sea as if inhaling that legendary first wisp of purple qi at daybreak, Professor Luo slowly concluded his practice. Finished, he shot Mu Longcheng a glare. "Stones of just the right size, with the right shape, that can be used to build high-temperature kiln walls, Grand Steward Mu!"

"Oh..." Mu Longcheng thought for a moment. "I haven't been to the Kiln District much. Is there no stone there?"

"It's either too small, like cobblestones, or too big and grotesquely shaped. Right now we have neither the manpower nor the machinery to cut it, so we have to come to Penghu..."

"Now I get it. Looks like the people of Penghu have already cut the stones for us..."

Professor Luo rolled his eyes again. "And you call yourself Navy? You've never been to the fort at the northeast corner of the Shang Hall?"

"Oh, you mean the Observation Deck. I went up for a glance early on. I have to lead troops every day, where would I find the leisure time for sightseeing?" Mu Longcheng replied, puzzled.

"Sigh, then I suppose you definitely never noticed the section of stone wall below that fort?"

"Is there such a thing?"

"Sigh..."

When the Dutch first built the trading post, they had in fact never imagined that one day tens of thousands of the National Lord's troops would attack and bombard it from the west.

The northeast direction, which commanded the Taijiang Inner Sea dock, was the focal point of Dutch defenses. This was evident from the construction itself: before the Transmigrators arrived, the Dutch had already begun adding stone facing to the trading post's rammed-earth walls. The fort at the northeast corner was the first to be started, and the material used was basalt from the Penghu Islands.

Basalt is rock formed from cooled volcanic lava. The Penghu Islands are a volcanic archipelago, and their bedrock is basalt. It is an excellent construction material; crushed stone is often used in later generations for laying foundations. But today, the Yuan Dou's objective was basalt square-cut blocks.

Millions of years ago, after the volcanic eruptions ceased and the lava gradually cooled, differing cooling rates caused polygonal fissures to form in the basalt mesas. Through the eons of geological change, these mesas have today become unique mountains of hexagonal or quadrilateral stone columns. These columns are stacked together like square loaves of bread, with clear joints and roughly uniform size.

After occupying the undefended Penghu in 1622, the Dutch quickly built a series of fortresses across the islands by capturing coastal fishermen. These were standard fortresses with side lengths of roughly 56 meters, and the material used was basalt.

After being driven to Dayuan by the Ming Army, successive Dutch Governors, especially those in office during the construction period of Zeelandia, repeatedly sailed back to Penghu to retrieve basalt bricks from the previously abandoned fortresses and bring them back to Dayuan for building the city — a fact mentioned multiple times in the Dutchmen's own diaries.

Upon reaching Penghu, the Yuan Dou did not go to the main island. Instead, she circled around and chose a smooth beach on Dajishan Islet, at the northeast corner of Penghu, to make landfall.

Once there, a spectacular sight was immediately apparent: like an entire block of neatly arranged matches standing upright on a shallow dish, the orderly columnar sea cliffs rose starkly between sea and sky. The scene of lava slowly cooling on the sea surface millions of years ago was faintly discernible.

The beach was piled high with black basalt blocks, weathered and naturally fallen along the fissures.

The laborers, already prepared, disembarked one after another. Carrying bamboo baskets and shoulder poles, they followed behind Professor Luo, who was dressed in a waterproof jacket. After only a few steps, Professor Luo picked out a square and upright basalt sample the size of a laptop from the rock pile, held it up above his head, and then his work was done. He clasped his hands behind his back and strolled back onto the ship.

Before long, the laborers had carried a basket of stones back to the ship. Professor Luo pointed at the bamboo basket and said to Mu Longcheng with a smile, "See? No need for the people of Penghu at all. Nature took care of the job for us."

Mu Longcheng was also thoroughly amazed at this moment. He raised his binoculars and scrutinized the bamboo-joint-like black sea cliffs intently. "This truly is the work of divine craftsmanship!"

"This place is a protected scenic area in later generations. You never came here on your independent travels?"

"I've only been to Thailand..."

"So uncultured. Weren't you in the Navy? After you retired, didn't you ever run a smuggling operation or something on a boat? Never thought to sail over here and take a look?" Professor Luo began his revenge with a sly grin.

"Bullshit! That's called anti-smuggling, not smuggling! If I dared sail a boat here, that'd be called willfully provoking a border incident. I'd end up on the trending searches! What nonsense are you spouting!"

"Heh heh, well then, take a good look today. Look to your heart's content..."

And so Mu Longcheng and Professor Luo set up a table right there at the bow. They chatted and shot the breeze while watching the laborers pick through the rock piles, then carry basket after basket of square stones down into the lower hold. At this rate, they definitely wouldn't finish today. Professor Luo made a rough calculation: it would take at least until tomorrow afternoon or evening before the Yuan Dou could return with a full hold.

As expected, the Yuan Dou remained at Dajishan Islet until two o'clock the following afternoon before weighing anchor for the return voyage. The return route was a bit odd. The ship did not simply turn around and head back; instead, she made a wide circle around the Penghu Islands, sailing all the way to the waters off Xiyu Island at the westernmost edge of Penghu before slowing down.

The three passengers who had remained in the guest cabins since departure were brought up onto the deck at this time.

These three fellows were uniformly dark, lean, short, and wiry, with flat noses and thick lips — the classic Southern Fujian look. The one in the lead was named Xu Duanwu, and all three were clan relatives. On the third day after the Transmigrators had seized Dayuan, these three old brothers had been interrogated and their background uncovered — historically, they were the family business agents left by Xu Xinsu — Sea Merchant / Great Ming Squad Commander / pirate — at the Dayuan Trading Post, responsible for communicating with the Dutch, before his heroic sacrifice resisting the villain Zheng Zhilong.

This was also why Professor Luo had been assigned as special envoy for the Yuan Dou's voyage: digging up stones fell under mining, while dealing with the three Xu Family business agents fell under diplomacy. The two tasks were completely unrelated, so they had no choice but to dispatch Professor Luo, who understood rocks, earth, and reading the room.