New Han Dynasty 1834

Chapter 53 The Fleet Returns

McLaughlin, the chief agent of Hudson Bay Company in Vancouver, and Zhang Zongyu completed the handover.

Zhang Zongyu's militia, representing the Han Dynasty, effectively controlled Vancouver Fort, the largest settlement in the area and the trading center of the Hudson Bay Company in Northwest North America.

This is a village covering an area of ​​about fifty acres, with an original population of more than two hundred people.

After settling down temporarily at Vancouver Fort, Zhang Zongyu asked McLaughlin to cooperate and, like McMillan and other Langley Fort administrators, to follow his militiamen by boat to take over other trading posts.

During this process, the number of garrison militia members stationed at various outposts was redeployed.

Most importantly, three hundred immigrant families remained in Vancouver Fort to guard, protect, develop, and build.

Two hundred immigrant households were left behind in each of the four settlements: the First Settlement, the Second Settlement, the Third Settlement, and Langleyburg to guard and develop the area.

The two small settlements, Fort Nisquarry and Fort George, each had one hundred immigrant families assigned to guard and develop them.

The other 700 immigrant households were divided into groups of 100 and sent to take over other small trading posts, transforming them into pioneer villages for the Han Dynasty.

These small trading posts were also very simple in scale, falling between Langleyburg and Nicequariburg, and usually had a few to a dozen people stationed there.

One hundred immigrant households, along with the middleman in Fort Vancouver, arrived together by boat and were basically taken over directly.

Although they encountered a few employees who were not very calm, the disparity in numbers between the two sides was too great. The Han militia and the merchants of Vancouver Fort worked together and quickly brought the few unsettling elements under control.

At most, it was a minor skirmish; no actual fighting took place.

While the militia took over the trading post, they essentially had temporary houses and warehouses. They also used transport ships to deliver supplies needed for the development, including tools, food, winter clothing, and so on.

Then they began clearing land around these trading posts, preparing to plant winter wheat when it started to rain in winter.

Zhang Zongyu took over seven important trading posts in less than half a month.

With a total of two thousand militia households distributed in this way, they occupied the most important bays and river nodes in this area, which basically meant they had actual control over this land.

The northwestern part of the future United States, namely Oregon and Washington, and the southwestern part of Canada, namely British Columbia, were at that time a disputed area between the United States and Britain.

The two sides signed an agreement in 1825, stipulating that merchants from both sides could operate in this area.

The key reason for the dispute is that both sides have extremely sparse populations in this area.

Once one side has a large enough population, they will no longer have disputes with the other side.

Now there's basically no need for them to fight anymore; this place will belong to the Han Dynasty from now on.

After McLaughlin helped Zhang Zongyu complete the handover of the trading post, he took sixty company employees who did not want to stay there, bid farewell to Zhang Zongyu and Yu Yang, and left Vancouver Fort.

He explained that he would take the York factory postal route back to the east coast and then go to the British mainland to report the situation.

Zhang Zongyu didn't care if they went back to report, since such a thing couldn't be hidden, and Liu Yulong wasn't going to hide it either.

They went back to report, which provided a good opportunity to clarify the matter and determine ownership of the area.

Zhang Zongyu knew the situation here; apart from the Han Dynasty, no other country or power could quickly send thousands or tens of thousands of immigrants over.

Zhang Zongyu also wrote a brief summary report, which he took with him when the transport fleet left the west coast.

It is suggested that the Emperor and the Governor's Office arrange for more militia to come as soon as possible.

Now even small-scale settlements have one or two hundred militia households, meaning there are practically no competitors in this area.

However, the militia officers and soldiers were accustomed to the densely populated, civilized world on their home soil.

Now only one hundred families live in the wilderness, and they feel lonely and insecure.

Zhang Zongyu hoped that each pioneering site would be garrisoned by at least three hundred militia households.

Important settlements should be garrisoned by militia of more than 500 households.

Each of the key development points should have at least a thousand militia households.

At least one city with ten thousand militia should also be built as the capital of the Great Han on the northwest coast of North America.

To station a sizable military force to deal with any possible emergencies.

Therefore, Zhang Zongyu hoped that when the fleet came to the Americas again next year, it would send at least 5,000 militia households with it.

That way, we can truly and reliably control this area.

If exploration in the south is to continue, and if the militia is to be stationed and controlled to seize the vacant lands that nominally belong to Mexico, then even more militia will be needed.

It is recommended that at least 10,000 militia households be sent over later, and at least 10,000 militia households be sent over every year thereafter.

After writing his report and request, Zhang Zongyu handed them over to the admirals of the Beiyang Fleet and the transport fleet to take back to the mainland. Zhang Zongyu then focused his energy on land reclamation and construction.

Zhang Zongyu suggested that if more militiamen were to be sent over, as much food and housing as possible should be prepared.

Local food supplies are self-sufficient, there are vacant houses to house new immigrants, and transport ships do not need to carry too much food and supplies, so that more people can be transported at once, thereby rapidly expanding the scale of immigration.

The Beiyang Fleet and large transport ships cooperated with Zhang Zongyu to complete the combat mission. They stayed near the Gulf of America for a total of one and a half months before finally setting sail south on May 25.

When the fleet passed through the California region, small speedboats were dispatched to scout the area inside and outside San Francisco Bay.

At the same time, under the pretext of trade, they approached and assessed the size of the settlements in the area.

The Mexican settlements in the California region were no longer prison trading posts in the northern wilderness; they had become true villages or even towns.

The organizational structure of these villages and towns is also quite different from that in the north; they are almost all formed around church mission sites.

The center of a village or town is usually a church, and the actual grassroots administrators are missionaries.

Unlike the Protestant Britons, the Catholic Church has a more sophisticated organizational structure and often acts as a local administrative body in remote areas.

In the British colonies, the most important people were usually the governors and representatives of the merchants.

In Spanish colonies, the most important figures were usually governors and bishops.

In addition, the situation in central Mexico is extremely chaotic. In just fourteen years since independence, there have been two regents, one emperor, one interim government, and nine presidents.

There is simply no one with the ability or energy to strengthen control over these frontier regions.

The smaller villages here usually have more than a hundred people, while the largest, San Francisco, has more than a thousand.

However, this population is not only Hispanic Mexicans, but also includes a large number of baptized indigenous people.

Compared to the desolate Oregon region, this is a relatively populated area.

However, compared to the core areas of Mexico, this is still considered a very desolate and peripheral region.

Compared to the Han Dynasty's homeland, it was also considered a wild and undeveloped area.

After learning of the situation, the Beiyang Fleet continued south and arrived at the port of Acapulco in southwestern Mexico at the end of June.

Acapulco was once the terminus of the Spanish galleon route in Mexico.

Silver produced in the Mexican interior, and even silver produced in South America, would be loaded onto ships here.

They were sent to the other side of the Pacific Ocean in exchange for goods such as silk and porcelain.

Then some of it was shipped to Spain in Europe, and some was shipped to Mexico.

Although Mexico is now independent, the trade activities here have not changed; only the people have changed.

Trade routes were no longer monopolized by the Spanish; the British, Americans, Mexicans, and Chinese were now all able to participate.

After the Beiyang Fleet arrived, it was received by merchants from the trading company, and the transaction was completed as usual.

After the cargo was loaded, it set sail on July 15th, heading west into the vast Pacific Ocean. After a full two months of sailing, it arrived at Taiwan Port on September 18th.

The fleet admiral hoped to return to the home port as soon as possible, namely Lushun Port on the Liaodong Peninsula.

However, by this time the winds along the coast were mainly from the north, and it would take a lot of time for large ships to return north against the wind.

However, the Great Han Institute of Physics underwent renovations for more than half a year, preparing a batch of small and medium-sized steamships specifically for the navy, which were responsible for rapidly transmitting information in coastal waters.

Taiwan Port serves as a crucial maritime hub for those heading south to Luzon, as well as a vital point for returning from North American routes. Two steam-powered sailing ships are regularly deployed there.

So the fleet admiral presented his and Zhang Zongyu's report and had it sent back to the capital by steam communication ship, while he led the large fleet back slowly.

So, just five days later, on September 6th, the two reports from the Beiyang Fleet and Zhang Zongyu were delivered to the Cabinet Office.

Liu Yulong went to the cabinet office on September 7 and learned the general content of the report.

Upon seeing the news from the Americas, Liu Yulong did not have his secretary summarize and report it; instead, he personally took it and read it.

When Liu Yulong read about the trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company and learned that their ordinary trading posts usually only had a dozen or even just a few people, while the larger ones had only twenty or thirty, he couldn't help but admire the resilience of the British people.

Liu Yulong recalled his mindset when he first assessed the local situation.

Although I knew in my heart that the population in this place must be very small at this time, I, who lived in a densely populated area, instinctively thought that even if there were few people, there must be dozens or hundreds.

The actual situation turned out to be an order of magnitude lower than my predicted bottom line.

The population of California, which belongs to Mexico, has barely reached the level it had imagined.

A settlement has at least one or two hundred people, and the largest has over a thousand.

Liu Yulong approved of Zhang Zongyu's proactive approach in taking over the Hudson Bay Company's trading post.

Generals in remote frontiers or even overseas need sufficient autonomy.

Liu Yulong did indeed grant him the authority to make decisions on the spot.

Zhang Zongyu has done a pretty good job so far, essentially opening up hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of land.

Liu Yulong sighed inwardly, then personally picked up his pen and approved Zhang Zongyu's request.

He ordered the Central Military Governor's Office and the Naval Governor's Office to coordinate the dispatch of 5,000 militia households to North America the following spring.

Increase the number of militia members in each trading post and settlement to more than three hundred as soon as possible.

From then on, 10,000 militia members were sent to North America every year.

After amassing 30,000 militiamen in the area, they began to infiltrate and develop the California region.

Liu Yulong originally wanted to send more people to the Americas, effectively occupying the northwestern part of the Americas, which was still like a no-man's land at the time.

The reason we encouraged them to start small was because we were worried that the nobles would think we were being ambitious.

Now that the general in charge of immigration and expansion has taken the initiative to request it, he can order the process to be accelerated slightly.

However, Britain's influence in the region was extremely weak, so there was no need to send its main warships to escort them.

From now on, we can just use armed transport ships; that will be enough to deter any enemy in the area.

The majority of the main warships were transferred to the south to suppress the Dutch and British fleets in the South Seas.

The Great Han's military operations in Borneo this year are about to begin in full swing.