Chapter 1212: The Thriving Port of Haizhou

It was already the end of the first month, and the day when canal shipping would resume was not far off. If the court and Xuzhou continued their death struggle, the transport of tribute grain and southern goods to the north would be delayed, and everyone's income for the year would suffer greatly.

The various factions in Jiangnan held no goodwill toward Zhao Jin. They wished for nothing more than Xuzhou to be annihilated by the court and for Zhao Jin to be flayed and torn apart. However, once canal shipping was severed, Xuzhou was in fact the largest buyer. In the entire vast northern territory, after the canal was cut, he alone could absorb goods in massive quantities and distribute them out through various channels. Moreover, he held two ports and controlled two fleets. If anyone wanted to deliver goods to the north, there were many areas where they would need to rely on these ports and fleets.

Even if everyone wanted to use their own fleets to ship goods, they still had to consider whether those two fleets would intercept them, and whether they would need to anchor and resupply at Clam Bay and Haizhou Port. With all these considerations, people naturally preferred not to stir up trouble. Rather than gamble on a victory whose outcome was unclear, it was better to secure the income currently within reach.

After Qingjiangpu settled down, merchants from all routes flooded in. Many had countless ties to those wealthy merchants whose properties had been confiscated and who had been arrested—some were even relatives by marriage. But who still cared about such grudges? Everyone's thoughts were simple: What did Xuzhou need? What storefronts could grain and goods sell for in Qingjiangpu? The Qingjiang Grand Market already had vacant stalls—how much silver and what conditions would secure one?

According to intelligence from the Internal Guard, the already-resigned Vice General of Langshan had invested a large sum of silver in Qingjiangpu. He had his eye on the profits the new Salt Transport Canal would bring, because the Langshan Barracks had several private ports where sea merchants often anchored and unloaded goods, which could now be transported directly to Qingjiangpu via the Salt Transport Canal.

The Internal Guard's agents operating in Huaiyang and Jiangnan, as well as those wealthy merchant families eager to curry favor, transmitted all kinds of information. Several pieces were deemed extremely important and sent by relay horse to Zhao Jin in Xuzhou. The news was somewhat vague, saying that the border armies of Shaanxi and Shanxi would not move for the time being—the journey was long, their local defense duties were heavy, and after receiving the imperial decree they certainly would not set out immediately.

Whatever reaction the government troops might have, the Zhao Battalion was now fully mobilized. Yet in Qingjiangpu and Yangzhou, this was hardly visible. Squads of patrolmen organized by Li Dajin had begun escorting the Yunshan Company's branch-establishing teams into the cities along the canal, while also recruiting suitable able-bodied men everywhere to join the patrol ranks.

No one was fooled by such calm. Everyone understood that the moment fighting began, the Third Brigade, the patrolmen, and the various armed forces under different names in Qingjiangpu were all troops ready for battle. The reason for this concealment was simply to let everyone keep doing business with peace of mind. Thinking of this, both local and outside merchants found it amusing—what exactly were these Xuzhou strongmen thinking? They were already fighting to the death, yet they still feared disrupting business, and they still conducted business so scrupulously by the rules.

Compared to the maintained calm of Qingjiangpu, the Huaian North District was fully mobilized. This region, pioneered and managed by the Zhao Battalion, was entirely set up as a military settlement. It had no true civilians—everyone was a manor retainer or subject of the Zhao Battalion. Most of the able-bodied men in the manors lived a militarized daily life, bound by discipline, subjected to grueling training, and organized with strict structure. They could be formed into company after company of local militia and sent into battle at any moment.

After a Spring Festival that was not entirely relaxed, the Huaian North District formed forty companies of local militia, holding every strategic point in the district. Fifteen of those companies were on standby near Yutou Town, both protecting the Yutou Town junction and ready at any time to reinforce the Zhao Battalion's main force. Although this formation was for the greater good, Li He of the Pizhou Regiment and Qi Erkui's independent battalion were both very displeased. The Jiang and Cheng families also had complaints, all saying: We haven't even taken the field yet—what's the point of raising so many militia companies?

The Huaian North District was actually the safest place at present, because it faced the sea to the east, while the other three sides were garrisoned by the Zhao Battalion's other main forces. This most critical location was therefore where Haizhou Port was situated. Shi Manqiang's Second Brigade, First Regiment, along with five militia companies, was stationed west of Haizhou City.

Besides the port and the Huai salt trade, the Zhao Battalion had also placed an ironworks and a firearms workshop here. The weapons and firearms supplied to maritime forces were all manufactured here. There was also the task of casting cannons. The cannons produced here were mainly to supply the Second and Third Brigades. Once completed, they were loaded directly onto ships and transported via the sea route into the canal to equip the Household Guard brigades.

The ironworks and firearms workshop were already important enough, let alone the fact that there was also a shipyard here, which repaired incoming and outgoing sea vessels while also building warships for the Zhao Battalion. The cannons produced by the firearms workshop were also sent to the shipyard to see how they could be mounted on ships. However, neither Fujian-style junks nor Guangdong-style junks could mount cannons on the deck level; they could only be placed on the top deck.

The craftsmen at the shipyard found the income and life here quite pleasant—it was rare to find a place that so respected artisans and laborers. But it was also terribly troublesome. That proprietor had too many whimsical ideas, always making everyone try this and try that, delaying proper work. Moreover, the shipwrights privately discussed among themselves, all saying that the proprietor had probably been to places like the Southern Seas and seen the great ships of the foreign devils. Those fanciful ideas, when you thought about them carefully, were all related to the foreign devils' ships.

The foreign devils and the Great Ming built ships in completely different ways. Even if one could more or less figure out some principles, applying them was very difficult. So it remained troublesome all along. But there was one advantage here: good timber was not lacking, and large timber was not lacking either. With these two, one could build big ships. Quite a few Fujian-style and Guangdong-style junks had already been launched.

Port commerce, the Huai salt trade, ironware casting, shipbuilding and lumber yards, plus the need to gather Liaodong refugees and serve as a transit and resupply point for merchant caravans—with a port this important, it was no surprise that Shi Manqiang personally led troops to hold it.

The Zhao Battalion had also invested heavily in Haizhou Port. Not just in materials and protection—manpower and resources were poured in without stint. Large numbers of recruited able-bodied men and manor retainers from local estates were ceaselessly at work around the port. Many sea vessels, after unloading at Clam Bay, would then load up materials brought by canal and water transport and sail north to Haizhou Port to unload. All this required enormous expenditure.

Although the construction time had not been long, in the eyes of any seafarer, this Haizhou Port was fully complete. The berths and docks were neat and orderly, loading and unloading was convenient, and there was no need to worry about pirates or external enemies here, because Haizhou Port was already armed to the teeth.

At the strategic high points of the port and docks, there were gun emplacements. Thick stonework provided tight cover. The cannons had immense power and moved flexibly. Whether it was ships within the port berths or ships attempting to enter the port, all were within the cannons' firing range. After the emplacements were built, the cannons had test-fired more than once, and each time it gave the shipowners and sailors a sense of security. Everyone was here to do business, and only in a place like this could one sleep soundly and earn money.

Moreover, shipowners and sailors all felt respected here. Whatever opinions or observations they offered, no one dismissed or scorned them. If correct, the suggestion would be implemented immediately, and a reward would be given. For example, the two newly erected towers at the port's high point—when the sky was dim, great fires would always burn atop them, guiding those who had yet to enter the harbor. In ordinary times, these towers served as lookout posts for scanning the surrounding sea.

Later, a frame made of wrought iron and timber was added atop these towers. On it was a lamp housing with a shade, and below hung a large bell, used for telling time and signaling. Sailors who had been to Macau and the Southern Seas and seen the buildings and churches of the foreigners proposed this idea. It was indeed convenient and was quickly put to use.

Open ports north of the Yangtze River, especially fully equipped open sea ports, were very rare. After Haizhou Port was completed, although the Li Family's Great Fleet and the Yu Family kept it strictly secret, intentionally or not, word still spread. Outside ships began to anchor and resupply here, and even conduct trade.

Xuzhou's attitude toward such third-party ships was very welcoming. With Haizhou Port's defenses plus the strength of the Second Brigade, there truly was no need to fear any pirate attack. While guaranteeing priority rights for the Li and Yu families, the port was open to all outsiders, with the sole requirement that foreign ships strictly follow the rules here.

Seagoing sailors and deckhands were mostly lawless men. Some, once ashore, forgot all warnings and stirred up trouble. Soon after, a row of frames was erected near the port. The troublemaking sailors were captured and hanged from them to die, then left for the seabirds to peck at—a warning to the ships coming and going. There were also those who, after causing trouble and injuring someone, fled quickly, boarded their ship, hoisted sail, and set off before even the Li and Yu family ships could block them.

But setting sail and departing within the port was not something that could be done quickly. They were sunk directly by the cannons from the gun emplacements. After a few such incidents, Haizhou Port and its surroundings became a realm ruled by sages, where no one picked up lost items on the road and everyone was courteous.

Foreign ships arriving at Haizhou Port for the first time would always be shocked twice. The first time was that such a fully equipped and excellent sea port existed here. The second time was that the port was so close to the Donghai Thousand-Household Station. That station was on a large island just outside Haizhou Port, an island semi-connected to the mainland—at low tide, one could walk from the island to the land. The station also had its own naval force. Although sea merchants were not afraid of government troops, being this close was still uncomfortable.

Once ashore, when they went to wineshops and eateries, or to gambling dens and low brothels for pleasure, they discovered that many of these were actually businesses run by that very Thousand-Household Station. Only then did they relax. So this was a place where officials and merchants colluded—what was there to worry about then?

Foreign sea merchants would stop for a few days and then leave, too lazy to gain any deeper understanding of the place. So they never knew that the Thousand-Household Station and the various Haizhou government offices were only allowed to do business with the Zhao Battalion's permission. It was not collusion, but rather earning their fortune by depending on someone else's favor. The government troops of the Donghai Thousand-Household Station understood this very clearly in their hearts. If they tried to suppress bandits or do anything else, the officials in Haizhou City would be the first to turn hostile and expose all the old affairs of smuggling and salt trafficking. Cutting off someone's path to wealth was a life-or-death grudge.

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