Chapter 157: The Haitian

After sailing for two days, the “Haitian” arrived in the waters near Nan’ao Island. With its white sails full, the Haitian glided gracefully across the sea like a seagull, splashing through the waves.

The weather here had been clear recently, and the sea was as smooth as a mirror. A few wisps of white cloud floated slowly in the distant sky. The May sunset cast its brilliant afterglow unhindered onto the vast, open sea. Green islands dotted the surface. The emerald waves, one after another, tirelessly pounded the bare coast, creating a sound like muffled thunder.

This was Nan’ao Island. Situated at the intersection of the Fujian, Guangdong, and Taiwan provinces, it is 11.8 nautical miles from Shantou, 160 nautical miles east of Kaohsiung, 97 nautical miles north of Xiamen, and 180 nautical miles southwest of Hong Kong, giving it a very strategic location. Since ancient times, Nan’ao has been a necessary stopover and transit point for trade along the southeastern coast. As early as the Ming Dynasty, it was known for its “maritime mutual market.” It not only bore the footprints of the Southern Song’s small court but was also the site of the so-called “hidden treasure” of the Wokou pirates.

The Haitian’s arrival here was, of course, not for treasure hunting. The “Haitian” was a reconnaissance and survey ship of the navy, tasked with collecting information on coastal sea conditions, topography, and measuring the depth of harbors, among other intelligence-gathering duties. During long-range operations, it also served as a navigation vessel.

The navy was an expensive branch of the military, and the Haitian was a prime example. During the Pearl River Estuary campaign last year, the Haitian was still a hundred-ton-class Guangdong junk. Now, the old “Haitian” had become the new “Haitian”—the former navy’s “Zhenhai,” a two-masted gunboat. The Zhenhai was the first European-style two-masted schooner built by the transmigrators according to blueprints. Its model was the historically famous “America”: a displacement of 170 tons, a length of 30 meters, a beam of 7 meters, and a draft of 3 meters.

This ship had excellent sailing performance, capable of sailing quickly even against the wind. However, it also required a certain level of skill from the crew. It could reach a high speed of 18 knots in a strong tailwind, but the slightest mistake could lead to capsizing.

Since its launch in 1629, the Zhenhai had participated in almost all of the Senate’s military operations and had also undertaken numerous escort, patrol, and even cargo transport missions. After the second anti-encirclement campaign, the Zhenhai did not participate in the Pearl River Estuary operation but served for a period on the Lingao-Sanya patrol and transport route.

Shortly after the first shipbuilding and outfitting plan began, the Zhenhai entered the shipyard in Bopu for repairs and modifications. In addition to cleaning and maintaining the hull, it was refitted with soft sails instead of hard sails, its bottom was copper-sheathed, a steam power system was installed, and a radio was added.

The navy was quite satisfied with the Zhenhai’s performance, but they considered it too small in tonnage and lacking in firepower to be an ocean-going warship. Therefore, the final decision was to rename the Zhenhai to Haitian, replacing the old Guangdong junk-type Haitian as the new reconnaissance and survey ship.

The new Haitian had most of its weapons removed to reduce weight. The six 2-pounder mortars and two 70mm rifled guns were all dismantled. The early 70mm rifled guns had some defects in performance and production technology and were not mass-produced at the time. Only a few experimental ones were installed on naval vessels. The most widely equipped cannons on naval ships were still various smoothbore guns. Lin Shenhe had already submitted a report on developing and manufacturing a new generation of cannons to replace these early ones. This special caliber of cannon had been slated for elimination.

After removing all the cannons, the new “Haitian” was re-equipped with one 48-pounder smoothbore cannon and four “typewriters” for self-defense. These weapons were sufficient to deal with sporadic pirate harassment.

The Haitian’s mission was “reconnaissance,” not coastal bombardment or naval combat. Speed was its weapon and shield. Not only were its sails superior to the traditional sails of this era, but it was also equipped with a steam engine and propeller. When necessary, it could go full steam ahead to escape.

Another advantage of this type of ship was that it required very few sailors, with a minimum of nine to operate. With the additional support of steam power, the number of required crew members could be kept low, freeing up enough space for more comfortable living quarters. To ensure that the Elders performing reconnaissance and technical support work could live relatively comfortably at sea, the living facilities were also modified to maximize their quality of life.

To facilitate landing and entering inland waterways for exploration, the Haitian was also equipped with davits to carry rowing boats and small motorboats.

After completing its modifications, the Haitian’s first mission was to set sail from Hong Kong and survey the hydrographic conditions and maritime security of the coast from Hong Kong to Shandong.

The new Haitian was captained by Li Ziping, an Elder naval officer. Like Chen Haiyang, Li Ziping was a former PLA naval officer who had received formal military academy education, had extensive experience in navigation and weapons management, and had even undergone short-term training at the Kuznetsov Naval Academy, where he was imbued with the spirit of the Red Navy.

After D-Day, Li Ziping served for a time in the “fisherman’s navy,” patrolling outside Bopu Harbor in the 8154 fishing boat to protect the Senate. After the establishment of the Naval Department, he declined an appointment to a staff position and served as a naval captain for a long time, diligently practicing various sailing maneuvers and tactics. After the advent of steam engines, he frequently visited the steam engine workshop to master the characteristics of steam engines and boilers. “Master new equipment, train hard in new tactics” was his motto. His appointment as the captain of the new “Haitian” was also his own request. He hoped to gain some direct experience of the future war zone through this voyage—although he knew that this captaincy would not last long. As soon as the 1631-class ships were officially launched and commissioned, he would be going to receive a new warship.

Under the captain’s command, the Haitian set sail from Hong Kong and headed north along the coastline. The main focus of this trip was to survey the Pingtung and Kaohsiung areas of Taiwan. Subsequently, it would also survey the coastal areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shandong, searching for suitable harbors and small islands for shelter and anchorage, and drawing accurate coastlines. Although they had detailed nautical charts, the coastline had changed significantly over several hundred years, and there were great differences from the charts and maps of the old timeline. The distribution of reefs and shoals was also different, so it was necessary to correct the charts beforehand.

Another task of the Haitian was to observe the safety of maritime navigation in person. Although the ships of the Dabo Shipping Company had sailed between Zhejiang and Hong Kong several times before without any major incidents—apart from a few attacks by small groups of pirates—neither Liu Xiang nor Zheng Zhilong had launched any interceptions of Dabo’s cargo ships. It seemed that the conclusion of the Grand Library’s historical research group was accurate: these great sea lords did not have the ability to organize a tight maritime blockade—nor was it their ambition. Both Liu Xiang and Zheng Zhilong were concerned with monopolizing foreign trade. The ones who frequently carried out robberies in the coastal areas were small and medium-sized pirate groups.

This time, the Haitian openly flew the Star of Qiming flag and the naval ensign. The purpose was obvious: to see how strong the maritime consciousness of the legendary great sea lords really was, and how capable they were of fulfilling their desires.

“Keep a close watch on the sea!” Li Ziping raised his binoculars and observed the waters around the island. The sea was dotted with fishing sails. The area around Nan’ao Island was an excellent fishing ground, and many fishing boats came here to fish. But he was more concerned with Liu Xiang’s ships.

After withdrawing from the Pearl River Estuary, Liu Xiang had not been seen in the vicinity again. The General Staff and the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, based on various intelligence materials, had conducted map exercises and roughly determined that if Liu Laoxiang had left the Pearl River Estuary, his possible locations, from west to east, were: first, Daya Bay; second, one of the two peninsulas of Shanwei Port; and finally, one of the three harbors of Dongshan County. Among these three general locations, Nan’ao Island in the Shantou-Shanwei region was the most ideal.

In this timeline, most of Shantou and Shanwei were still tidal flats. The local Hakka fishermen had set up huge fishing mazes here, which were called “shan” in Hakka. This was the origin of the two place names.

If a large group of tens of thousands of pirates were looking for a place to hide, Nan’ao Island was perfect. The island was large enough—130 square kilometers—with abundant fresh water and fuel. In the old timeline, it had a permanent population of over seventy thousand. As long as there was a stable supply of food, a group of tens of thousands could live on the island without much pressure. It had harbors and bays, was only 12 nautical miles from the mainland, and was convenient for supplying materials. Moreover, the land was a mountainous region for hundreds of kilometers around, and Chaoshan was a Hakka region, so news was quite isolated from the rest of Guangdong society. And according to the Grand Library’s analysis, Liu Laoxiang was very likely a Hakka from the Chaoshan region. So, going to Nan’ao Island was like returning to his old nest. Not only would it be safe, but it would also be very convenient for obtaining personnel and supplies.

However, the historical data group of the Grand Library quickly rejected this possibility. In this timeline, Nan’ao Island was the garrison of Chen Ting, the Deputy General of Guangdong. Although Ming generals and great sea lords more or less colluded, they believed that Chen Ting would not be so brazen as to openly harbor a large pirate gang of tens of thousands under his nose. This was not in line with official customs and would also pose a great threat to him personally.

Spies sent by the Foreign Intelligence Bureau and disguised reconnaissance ships from the navy had conducted a series of reconnaissance operations along the coast. They finally determined that the Shanwei-Chaozhou area was Liu Xiang’s old nest. But his large ships were basically not in this sea area. Obviously, his main force was elsewhere. The intelligence bureau judged that it was very likely on the Fujian-Japan shipping route.