Chapter 143: The Ticket to Dongsha Island
“A few pistols?” The man in the cast-iron chair raised an eyebrow, once again flashing a childlike, cheerful smile. “Dear Mr. Australian Federal Government Official, wouldn’t you and your companions like to confiscate some more dangerous contraband? I think you’ll definitely be interested.”
The modified Ship 8154 no longer looked like a fishing vessel at all; it now resembled a light corvette from the pre-World War II era. Besides the manually rotated 70mm rifled cannon, a rotating machine gun turret was installed above the forecastle—and this was no typewriter, but a genuine M240 machine gun. Without a doubt, once it opened fire, it could disable any warship of this era within minutes.
In the Lingao Navy’s registry, the 8154 fishing vessel was classified as a “Type 8154 High-Speed Cruiser.” Except for its slightly smaller tonnage, its firepower could even rival that of a battleship of this era.
Weiss Lando arrived at Dongsha Island on one of these ships. He was accompanied by several motorized junks and a salvage vessel temporarily converted from a landing craft.
Since his interrogation, Lando had been secretly moved to the Second Guesthouse of the General Office. Father Jin Lige’s several attempts to visit him were blocked with the terrifying excuse of “contagion.” He enjoyed a comfortable house arrest in the Second Guesthouse, with good food, hot baths, and a cool summer uniform made of a cotton-linen blend—he later learned that only those at the Transmigrator level were entitled to such luxuries. Although it couldn’t replicate everything from the 21st century and was more of a hodgepodge of imitations, Lando found it very pleasant. The white porcelain flush toilet in his bedroom’s bathroom, in particular, moved him deeply—a person who had not experienced the abysmal sanitary conditions of the 17th century could hardly understand his feelings.
In the Second Guesthouse, someone came to talk to him every day. The visitors varied; some had a demeanor that clearly indicated they had lived in the United States, and many spoke surprisingly good English.
Their conversations covered a wide range of topics, from his mercenary work to the use of weapons, and even the situation of the Portuguese in Macao. It was clear they were interested in all kinds of information.
The woman who claimed to be a federal law enforcement officer also visited him once, discussing some details of his arms trafficking, including some of his past operations. Lando discovered that the federal government actually knew everything he had done but had simply not intervened.
“What’s the use of knowing so many details?” Lando asked, looking at the beautiful female agent. Although she wore a coarse cloth uniform and her blue eyes were as cold as ice, she was still charming. “Are you still planning to prosecute me on behalf of the federal government?”
“Just want to understand the situation better,” Salina replied simply.
“I find it very curious,” Lando said, looking at her. “How did you come to serve the Chinese?”
“Pretty much the same as you,” Salina shrugged nonchalantly. “Are there any other options?”
“Of course not. If I had known they were living so comfortably, I would have come crying and begging for the Chinese to take me in sooner,” Lando said, stretching. “My God, they really live well!”
“This is something they built up bit by bit. You’re just here to reap the benefits.”
“NO, NO,” Lando said, wagging his finger. “I paid for my ticket.”
Although he said this, Lando still had a faint sense of unease in his heart. Things won’t change, will they?
Standing on the deck, he gazed at the island. A rudimentary base was already taking shape on the desolate island. As a mercenary who often traveled the world by ship, he fully understood the importance of Dongsha Island on the South China Sea shipping route. After the Chinese of Lingao had conquered the whole of Hainan Island, their next step would inevitably be Taiwan.
And Dongsha Island was an important stop on the route to Taiwan. It was not surprising that they would occupy it as a relay base.
However, Dongsha Island was relatively close to the mainland. Many coastal fishermen came here to fish, and news could easily leak out. Once the Transmigration group established a base here, it was highly likely to be attacked by Zheng Zhilong, Liu Xiang, or other Europeans. To ensure the safety of personnel and facilities, a garrison force had to be established. Therefore, until recently, there was no final decision on whether to establish a permanent base and garrison here.
However, the intelligence about exploitable shallow oil resources near Keelung had stirred the hearts of a considerable number of Transmigrators. Taiwan was, after all, an important link in the Empire’s future continental chain. Thus, establishing a relay base on Dongsha was put on the agenda.
The Industrial and Energy Committee had already made a significant investment here to mine guano. They had repaired and cleaned the island’s wells, set up a steam pumping station, and to supplement the limited fresh water from the wells, established a desalination station that used the heat from the steam engine’s boiler for distillation. This station used the less saline brackish water drawn from the saltwater wells.
A simple railway had been laid on the island, a pier had been built, and derricks had been installed to facilitate the shipment of guano. The fishing resources around the Dongsha Islands were abundant, and the Agricultural Committee was also preparing to set up a fishery facility here to purchase, process, and store seafood.
As a garrison measure, the Navy would establish a small-scale fortress here. Next to the pier, a pentagonal bastion was under construction. When completed, the Dongsha Island bastion would be permanently garrisoned by four cannons and a marine company. A weather observation station and a navigation station would also be set up here, serving as an important support base for future maritime navigation.
The Agricultural Committee and the People’s Committee for Civil Affairs had originally planned to establish a fishing village here and immigrate people to the island. However, after investigating the geographical and hydrological data, they concluded that there was no suitable harbor, and the environment was rather harsh. Historically, fishermen had only worked on the island seasonally, and a fishing village would be difficult to sustain. In the end, they decided to only set up a fishery point here, managed by the marines during normal times, with fishermen brought in to work during the fishing season.
The pier was already crowded with ships. Dongsha Island had no harbor, only beaches all around. Besides the pier, there was almost no place for ships to dock, and berths were very tight. The transport fleet from Lingao had packed both sides of the pier. The landing craft simply beached themselves.
When the 8154 docked at the only berth on Dongsha Island, he saw that many simple facilities had already been built. Large sheds stood in the coconut grove. Black smoke and steam from the steam engines constantly billowed into the sky.
“You’ve set up a relay base on Dongsha. Are you preparing to go to Taiwan?” Lando asked casually, leaning against the ship’s rail, to Qian Shuiting who was beside him.
Qian Shuiting gave a faint smile. He had an American cigarette—Lando’s cargo recovered from Ship A—dangling from his lips.
“Taiwan is a matter for the future,” he said vaguely.
“The world is also a matter for the future.”
Qian Shuiting smiled. Lando’s identity had not yet been confirmed, and he didn’t want to say too much, lest he be attacked by the populists in the Senate.
Lando stepped onto the pier. Only then did he realize that a simple railway had been built on Dongsha Island. Many empty mine carts were parked on the tracks, and there were simple cranes. The ground of the pier here was covered in a grayish-white powder and gravel with a glassy sheen.
“What are you mining on this desolate island? Coral?”
“Guano,” Qian Shuiting said simply. He was here as a weapons advisor with the salvage team. The Political Security General Bureau had given him an additional task: to serve as this mercenary’s interpreter and companion.
“You don’t need to ask him anything specific. Just act as an official companion and interpreter,” Wu Mu had said. “You can speak freely with him.”
“Speak freely? Is that appropriate?”
“Yes. Speak freely,” Wu Mu had said casually. “If he’s one of us, he should know everything anyway. If he’s not, it doesn’t matter if he knows.”
Lando had no interest in bird droppings. He smoked a Lingao-made cigarette. He had grown accustomed to the local cigarettes of this era and found the American ones lacking in flavor.
They came to a temporary camp in the coconut grove. Many sheds and large tents had been set up. Some diving equipment had been taken out of their boxes and were undergoing final testing. Among the eclectic assortment of equipment was an ancient two-man hand-cranked air pump. There were also gasoline drums, painted yellow, neatly stacked and covered with tarpaulins.
Such a large operation—his “ticket price” had clearly impressed the Chinese of Lingao. However, if they found nothing, he would die without a burial place.
“I hope everything goes well!” he muttered.
Zhou Weisen and Lin Chuanqing, who were in charge of the diving, were already in the command post discussing the dive plan. A nautical chart of the waters around Dongsha Island was spread out on the table, with several pencil marks on it.
They shook hands politely, and Lin Chuanqing gestured. A sailor brought over iced soda water. The men sat down and drank heartily.
“According to the latitude and longitude you provided, we will start searching these points one by one tomorrow. The small boats have already gone to drop buoys. Unfortunately, there is no GPS here, so we’re using a sextant. I hope there’s no error,” Zhou Weisen said. “The average depth is less than 20 meters, so diving should be relatively easy.”
Lin Chuanqing said, “I’m curious. When you sank the ship, how did you plan to recover it later?”
“With divers, of course,” Lando said. “How was I to know I was coming to a place with no divers?”
“Then how did you get the weapons you brought to Macao off the ship? Although the ship sank in shallow water, diving into a sunken ship? Unless you’re a very professional diver!” Zhou Weisen said, expressing his disbelief.