Chapter 55: Jealousy

In order not to occupy the tight shipyard berths, and more importantly, not to occupy the limited shipbuilders, the new fishing boats used by the fishery cooperatives were not imitations of some old-time models, but were two-masted ships from this time that had been phased out by the navy. In fact, the navy’s direct fishing fleet also used old-style ships, but the fishery cooperatives and the navy’s fishing fleet were all equipped with new types of fishing nets: drift nets, trawls, and gill nets.

Some of these fishing nets were brought from the old time, and some were imitated by the textile factory of the Ministry of Light Industry, but the materials always failed to pass the test during the imitation process. Whether it was flax, jute, or hemp, the ropes made from them for fishing nets were not strong enough and were not resistant to corrosion.

The seemingly simple modern fishing nets, without the support of nylon, not only had to be made smaller, but were also not durable. Although the light industry department used coal tar to treat the fishing nets for anti-corrosion according to the information they found, and used improved rope twisting technology and equipment, the imitated fishing nets still had to be “fished for three days and dried for two.” Everyone found that this statement was actually based on facts. If they fished every day, the fishing nets made of pure natural green materials would soon be completely scrapped.

Modern large-scale fishing nets and fishing gear also require a lot of supporting equipment. A simple example is the winch used for hoisting nets—although the winch can also be operated by manpower, the layout of the old-style ships cannot accommodate these devices.

Although the fishery cooperative got the new fishing nets, the overall performance was discounted. Even with the discount, after using the new nets and fishing methods, the fishermen’s catchable range was greatly increased compared to the past when they could only catch fish in the shallow sea layer. Under the guidance of the navy’s fishing team, the cooperative fishermen who tried the new fishing methods and fishing gear for the first time immediately had an unprecedented bumper harvest. Such a big harvest could only be obtained during the “fishing season” in the past.

After tasting the sweetness, the fishermen of the fishery cooperative were easily lured to fish in the wider sea. Traditional fishermen had limited navigation capabilities, small boats, and lacked equipment and means to store their catch, so they rarely fished far from the coast.

In order to increase the catch, the fishing grounds must be expanded. The output of fishing only around Hainan Island is always limited. At the suggestion of Lin Chuanqing, the head of the navy’s fishing team, the fishery cooperative organized a fishing fleet to go to the deep sea to fish in an organized formation. The first targets were the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin and the Dongsha and Xisha waters.

Tiandihui sent Dugu Qiuhun to Hon Gai to prepare for a fishing station there, which would serve as a port for the fishermen of the fishery cooperative to rest, repair their boats, and take shelter from the wind in the Gulf of Tonkin, as well as a fish processing point. Of course, in the long run, the most suitable location should be in Haiyang—that is, the port of Haiphong in the old time.

In addition to increasing the catch by establishing a fishing station in Hon Gai, the navy also hoped to use Hon Gai as a base to gradually infiltrate and integrate the local fishermen in the Gulf of Tonkin through both hard and soft means, such as purchasing the local fishermen’s catch, selling supplies, providing boat repair services, small loans, and forcibly implementing fishing taxes. There were already many Chinese and Vietnamese fishermen fishing in the Gulf of Tonkin. In the history of the old time, the fishermen of the Gulf of Tonkin, both Chinese and Vietnamese, were one of the main sources of pirates in South China. The local pirates once shone brightly during the Tay Son dynasty in Vietnam and became the maritime force of the Tay Son regime.

Shortly after Dugu Qiuhun arrived in Hon Gai, the first fishing fleet of the fishery cooperative arrived in Hon Gai. This was an experimental small fleet consisting of 14 fishing boats, the largest being no more than 100 tons and the smallest only over 30 tons. But they were well-equipped and well-organized. In addition to the dedicated fishing boats, there were several boats that specialized in transporting salt and wooden barrels for processing the catch, and light boats that served as reconnaissance boats to conduct experimental fishing in various places to determine where the catch was most abundant.

The fishing fleet was escorted by two Type I triangular-sailed patrol boats from the navy to ensure that no one could disturb the fishermen of the cooperative.

The cooperative’s fishing fleet’s experimental fishing operation in Halong Bay was a great success. In fact, they returned fully loaded in less than four days. This success immediately mobilized the Ministry of Agriculture and Tiandihui, who had originally wanted to observe the effect of fishing in the Gulf of Tonkin—they decided to immediately increase their investment in Hon Gai and build a fish processing plant there.

The development of Hon Gai snowballed and expanded uncontrollably and rapidly. Soon, more than a dozen large and medium-sized ships were sailing regularly on the Lingao-Hon Gai route, transporting away coal and bringing in various materials needed for the construction of Hon Gai. After transporting more than a hundred laborers, Bei Kai sent a telegram to the Planning Institute, asking them not to transport any more pure manual laborers—the farmers near Hon Gai were constantly coming, and many of them brought their families with them. The Dachang Rice Shop in Haiyang also continuously transported locally recruited workers. The source of manpower was quite abundant. Bei Kai even found that among the laborers sent from Haiyang, besides the local farmers from North Tonkin, there were also many people from Guangxi of the Ming Dynasty—this place was actually not far from Guangxi, and many people from the border crossed the border to Guangxi to make a living.

Bei Kai requested that the naturalized laborers transported from Lingao should at least have a C-level diploma, and at the same time, some naturalized citizens or elders who could serve as labor instructors should be sent. According to the plan, the naturalized laborers would be selected and trained to gradually take on the administrative, management, and security work in Hon Gai. In addition, he proposed a plan to train local laborers: to gradually select reliable and capable local laborers from North Tonkin from among the laborers for training—if necessary, they could be sent back to Lingao for training, using their familiarity with the local situation as “guides” for the large-scale invasion of Vietnam in the future. This plan also included local children: Bei Kai requested permission to select some children from the families of the North Tonkin laborers who came to Hon Gai and send them to Lingao for training.

The Ministry of Agriculture soon set up a small fish processing plant in Hon Gai, using local women as labor. A portion of the fresh catch from the fishing fleet was processed directly on the spot and supplied to the cooperative canteen as protein. According to the experience of the Lingao labor canteen, whole fish were not supplied here either. All the catch was segmented and deeply processed, and what was supplied were fish balls, fish fillets, and fish fillets. The remaining fish bones and offal were processed into fish sauce and fish meal.

The remote exploration team office also set up a point in Hon Gai, with Bai Guoshi as the person in charge. His task was to replace the less professional Bei Kai and conduct a comprehensive exploration of the coal resources in the entire Guang’an area. In order to let him work with peace of mind, Liu Zheng simply sent Bai Guoshi’s hard-won girlfriend Zhao Xue with him—a man and a woman working together is not tiring. Liu Zheng’s instruction to them was to first concentrate on exploring the shallow coal mines near the coast.

During the fiery development, You Long and You Hai were wandering around the mine. They had been working here in Hon Gai for several days, and their income was enough to eat and drink, and they could even have a small drink. Their life was quite good.

These two were actually spies sent by Shen Hu. The rapid development of Hon Gai Station was something that the Northern Court officials, who were busy going south, could not care about for a while, but the large gathering of people, the constant entry and exit of ships, and the scene of the fishing boats returning with a full load every time, all stimulated the various local forces. Hon Gai Station had now become a piece of fat meat. The bandits on the shore, the pirates at sea, and the local tyrants all had greedy desires for this city that had suddenly emerged in a few months. While Bei Kai was enthusiastically engaged in construction, the various forces in the Hon Gai-Haiyang area were quietly carrying out their own intrigues.

The two spies were currently living in the quarantine camp and could only build roads on the construction site every day. After work, they could only get close to the outer trench of Hon Gai Fort and look at the fort wall and the watchtowers. Among the several targets, the miners’ village and the quarantine camp had little to offer. The shops on the side of the road between the fortress and the miners’ village were of course good, but they probably wouldn’t have too many valuable things. The two felt that the most valuable things should be in this fortress.

But looking at the heavily guarded fortress, it would not be an easy task to capture it. You Long and You Hai belonged to the Shen Hu mountain stronghold—this was a local group of bandits, consisting of stragglers from the Northern Court, runaway farmers from the manors, and also some bandits and strongmen from Guangxi of the Ming Dynasty, forming a group of four to five hundred people.

Relying on the Shen Hu bandit group alone, they would not dare to have any ideas about Hon Gai. Hon Gai had cannons, a fortress, and several hundred well-trained local braves. The Shen Hu bandit group, besides being able to eat their fill, could not even get a decent piece of clothing. The group of people were dressed in rags, just like beggars.

However, this time there were also a few small forces nearby participating. In particular, they also received help from the half-fisherman, half-pirate pirates from Jiangping. They were jealous of the fishing gear and ships used by the newcomers.

At a joint meeting of all parties, the total number of people participating in the land and sea attack on Hon Gai was 2,000 people and 40 ships, half by land and half by sea. Shen Hu probably knew that there were about 1,000 miners in Hon Gai, most of whom were local people. They would not necessarily risk their lives for the people in the fortress, and would either surrender or flee in all directions. What they had to deal with were only the two or three hundred people in the fortress. According to a few bandits who came from the Ming Dynasty, this group of people came from Lingao and were some “Australians.”

These few bandits from the Ming Dynasty were Gou Xunli and Hu Lanyan. After the large-scale security crackdown in Danzhou, the bandit gangs could hardly gain a foothold in Danzhou. The villages had either established a joint security system or had been merged. The bandits’ room for activity was getting smaller and smaller. The villages where they could hide, rest, and replenish their supplies had all closed their doors. Unless they stayed in the deep mountains and did not come out, as long as they appeared near a populated settlement, it would not be long before they attracted a large group of Australians to carry out a cleanup nearby.