Chapter 202: Qimu Island

Following the outline given to him by Xu Ke, he focused his inquiries on several of the officers who would lead the Dengzhou Mutiny: Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and the father and son Li Jiucheng.

However, Sun Yuan knew little about them. He only knew that they were originally from the Dongjiang Garrison. After Mao Wenlong’s death, they had a falling out with the current Dongjiang commander, Huang Long, and came to Dengzhou. He was only relatively familiar with Geng Zhongming, who was a staff officer and had more contact with the personal retainers.

In Dengzhou, troops from all over were gathered. The local Shandong troops were the most arrogant, followed by the guest armies transferred from the south. The commander-in-chief, Zhang Keda, mainly relied on the southern troops. The Liaodong troops who had originally come from the Dongjiang Garrison were somewhat dejected. As a Shandong soldier, Sun Yuan didn’t think much of them either. In his view, if it weren’t for the Dengzhou and Laizhou navy guarding the islands in the Bohai Bay and risking their lives to transport supplies and pay to Dongjiang, the Dongjiang Garrison stationed in Lüshun would have been finished long ago.

However, according to him, Sun Yuanhua treated the Liaodong troops transferred to Dengzhou and Laizhou very well. He not only gave preferential treatment to the generals but also settled the families of the Liaodong troops who had withdrawn from places like Lüshun and Jinzhou. Therefore, Sun Yuanhua’s prestige among the Liaodong troops was relatively high.

“That bunch from the Liaodong army stick together tightly. The Kong Youde you asked about has high prestige in the Liaodong army, and the general is also very polite to him.” He spat and said, “If the general hadn’t taken him in to Dengzhou and Laizhou back then, that lonely ghost would have been left to face the wind and eat salt sand on the island. Now he’s acting all high and mighty.”

He then added that the Liaodong army had many cavalry, and Kong Youde’s unit alone had over a thousand cavalry, so Sun Yuanhua looked upon him with special favor.

Huang An’de just listened and rarely spoke, occasionally refilling Sun Yuan’s wine. When he had gathered enough information, he proposed to enter the water city to see his past relatives and friends.

Sun Yuan laughed. “What’s so difficult about that? Artisans and laborers go in and out of the city every day. Tomorrow, I’ll talk to the team leader for you, and you can just mix in with the team and come in. There are so many people coming and going in the city; it’s no big deal.”

Huang An’de couldn’t help but feel contempt for the government troops. Things he hadn’t thought much of in the past, now that he was in the Fubo Army, he saw them in a new light and found them improper.

When the wine had reached a pleasant point, they parted ways happily. The next day, Huang An’de successfully mixed into the water city. Under the pretext of visiting old relatives and friends, he wandered around inside the water city for a while. He already knew the locations of most of the facilities, and now he was just confirming them again.

While Huang An’de was acting as a “spy” in Dengzhou, Lu Wenyuan, according to the pre-arranged plan, went to Longkou to survey possible locations for a land base.

In the Ming Dynasty, Longkou was located within Huang County, which was also the area where Kong Youde and the Ming army were engaged in a seesaw battle. Therefore, the location had to be chosen as far away from the war zone as possible. The location finally chosen by the General Staff was Qimu Island in Longkou Bay.

Qimu Island is a long, narrow peninsula extending into the Bohai Bay from Longkou, surrounded by the sea on three sides. It has an area of about 4 square kilometers. Its southern part is a wide, golden sandy beach, while its northern part is a cliff facing the sea. The entire island is connected to the mainland by a 10-kilometer-long, 1-kilometer-wide sandbar, like a giant arm reaching into the sea.

Even in the 21st century, Qimu Island was only developed as a tourist area. In the 17th century, it was just a desolate peninsula with almost no inhabitants except for a few small fishing villages. Most of the land on the island was saline-alkaline and sandy, unsuitable for cultivation.

But for the Elders, this was an excellent base. Qimu Island was surrounded by the sea on three sides. With the support of a small number of naval vessels and a small number of troops as a core, combined with mobilized soldiers to defend the fortress on the sandbar, the safety of the entire island could be ensured. The 4-square-kilometer island was large enough to accommodate many refugees. The only drawback was the lack of fresh water, but it was not entirely absent. According to the guide, there were some streams and springs in the mountains on the north side of the island that were “sweet water”—that is, fresh water. Wells could also be dug on the island, but they would yield “bitter water,” only suitable for washing. Combined with a rainwater collection system, it could barely supply the refugees.

This location was relatively remote within Huang County and did not attract attention. It was thirty kilometers from the Huang County seat and only sixty kilometers from Penglai, the core area of the Dengzhou Mutiny. If they needed to intervene, they could quickly join the battle. Moreover, this was all wasteland that no one wanted in the 17th century—it couldn’t be farmed. This was very suitable for the “frugal” Senate.

Lu Wenyuan rode his horse, feeling the whistling sea breeze on his face. This was still summer; what would it be like in winter? Thinking that the Bohai Sea often froze over large areas in the 21st century, the Little Ice Age of this era would surely bring thousands of li of ice and snow. The experience of being a “manor lord” here, blowing the sea breeze and watching the frozen sea, would not be pleasant.

The thought that he would be the manor lord here for at least two years gradually cooled Lu Wenyuan’s heart, which had been boiling with hormones. The Shandong girls were certainly attractive, but he had to take good care of himself to have the stamina.

In the group were several of Sun Yuanhua’s trusted men. Zhao Yingong’s proposal to establish a farm in the Longkou area of Huang County to recruit refugees for coastal agriculture, along with his plan to build a church, had moved Sun Yuanhua. So he had specially sent men to accompany Lu Wenyuan to handle this matter.

“Master Lu!” the guide called out when he saw the group still heading deep into Qimu Island. Although Qimu Island was not large, the sandbar was very long. It would take at least half a shichen to reach the end. And there was nothing to see along the way—except for some mountains in the northern part of the island, which had some scenery, it was all sandy beaches and saline-alkaline land. He suspected that this young Master Lu had some kind of hysteria, insisting on visiting this deserted island and looking at land.

“What is it?” Lu Wenyuan said in his strange, stiff Mandarin.

“This island is the same all the way to the end. It’s all sandy and saline-alkaline land, unsuitable for farming, and lacks water,” the guide advised. “Please, Master, let’s go back.”

Lu Wenyuan said, “I want saline-alkaline land. Let’s go! Let’s look further ahead.”

The guide cursed the Guangdong barbarian as unreasonable under his breath but had no choice but to lead them on. They finally reached the end. Lu Wenyuan stood against the sea breeze and gazed into the distance. To the south of Qimu Island was Longkou Bay, where Longkou Port was located in the old world. The peculiar terrain of Qimu Island actually served as a breakwater for Longkou Bay, making it a natural bay. On the southeastern coast of Longkou Bay, many civilian boats with their sails furled were moored. In the distance, some town streets could be faintly seen. It was clear that that place was much more prosperous than Qimu Island. The reason was also simple: the southern shore of Qimu Island facing Longkou Bay was all sandy shoals, and large ships could hardly dock.

No wonder not only were there no merchant ships docking here, but even the fishing villages were very small. If fishermen settled here, they could only use small fishing boats, and mooring was quite difficult—there were almost no natural harbors or docks available along the coast.

“What are those boats?” he asked.

“They are merchant ships from Tianjinwei and the south,” the guide said. “The ships from the north come to sell grain, and the ships from the south sell paper and sugar. On their return journey, they carry local dried seafood. The traveling merchants have built some warehouses in the fishing village over there.”

Lu Wenyuan nodded. In the future, if they were to develop Longkou, they would have to go to the southeastern coast of the bay. Qimu Island was not suitable as a port. He saw a tall earthen mound on the opposite shore, somewhat like the beacon towers in Lingao, and asked, “Is that a beacon tower?”

“Yes, that’s the Longkou Beacon Tower. I heard it was built by a duke during the reign of the Hongwu Emperor. The name Longkou comes from this tower.”

He looked around again. In the northern part of Qimu Island, there was a mountainous area with several peaks. Although not high, they had some undulation and were lush and green. If a farm were to be established, the mountain hollows would be a suitable location—at least for shelter from the wind. And according to the guide, the “sweet water” on the island’s surface was all in the mountains.

He had the guide lead the way and went up the mountain, observing the terrain as he went. He memorized the topography and landforms, and for what he couldn’t remember, he drew sketches in his notebook on the spot. Soon, he had a rough plan in his mind: where to set up the farm, where to build the gun batteries, where to construct lookout posts, where to build the pier and wharf, and where to settle the refugees when they arrived.

He enthusiastically climbed to the highest peak on the island. The warm sunlight sprinkled down. The eastern coast had white sand like a whetstone, with golden specks. The western part had steep cliffs and strange rocks, with occasional tall stone pillars standing in the sea. The warm breeze blew gently, making him feel comfortable all over. He couldn’t help but admire the picturesque scenery.

Standing on this highest peak, he could clearly see the topography of the entire Qimu Island. Strictly speaking, Qimu Island itself did not include the nearly ten-kilometer-long sandbar. The entire island was almost covered with hills, with the terrain being high in the north and low in the south. The island had seven hills of various sizes: Laobei Mountain, Dengta Mountain, Fenghuang Mountain, Paotai Mountain, Dongshan, Xishan, and Sheshan. Of course, these names were given by modern people. In this era, they were just nameless mountains.

Although the mountains on the island were not high, the scenery was pleasant. The mountains had the steepness of Fenghuang and other peaks, the water had the vastness of the Bohai Sea, the caves had the depth of the Dragon Cave, and the rocks had the majesty of the General’s Rock. It had the beautiful scenery of mountains and sea.

To the west of the island were vast green waves, a necessary passage for ships entering and leaving Longkou Bay. To the north of the island were steep cliffs, where “clouds moved over snowy waves dotted with light gulls,” offering a view of the mountains and the sea, and the beauty of dusk and dawn. To the south of the island was a golden sandy shoal, where small, shallow-draft boats could anchor. To the east of the island, the wind and waves were calm, which was Longkou Port, known as one of the six major ports in the north.

“Does this land have a landlord?” Lu Wenyuan asked.

“This is just a fishing village. Where would there be a landlord?” the guide said. “Who would come here to farm, unless they’ve gone mad!” Realizing his slip of the tongue, he quickly added, “This land is neither suitable for farming nor for burial sites. What’s the use of buying it? Except for some land around the fishing village that is owned, most of it is government land.”