The Captain's Office of Yunsheng No. 1 is holding a major meeting.

Xiao Bailang repeatedly explained with a tweeter, and coupled with the targeted explanations made by many waiters and security guards to various cabins, all the passengers on the ship temporarily elected seven representatives and formed a temporary self-rescue committee.

Captain Xiao Bailang; black-faced man, demobilized officer Peng Zhicheng; Ma Ganzu, director of a municipal party committee office; Wang Qinian, active-duty naval officer; Shao Shude, construction contractor; Ma Va, director of the workshop of a private steel factory; and Liu Weimin, a middle school teacher, formed seven temporary members. The committee adopts the principle of democratic centralism and does not have a chairman for the time being. Each resolution is collectively discussed and voted by the committee, and a simple majority can be passed.

The committee members discussed various matters while gnawing on biscuits and drinking mineral water.

"I won't say anything extra, let's get to the point. At present, there is no signal for the navigation equipment on the ship, and no signal for the maritime satellite phones, mobile phones and other communication equipment." Xiao Bailang looked up at everyone, frowned and said slowly, "The equipment on the ship is intact, and this stranding did not cause much damage to the hull. It's just that the diesel is insufficient and cannot support the voyage again."

"The situation is unclear. These diesels are our strategic materials and must not be used until critical moments." Middle school teacher Liu Weimin flipped through the notebook in front of him. "As the member in charge of material reserves, I conducted a statistics on the current loading materials of Yunsheng No. 1 freighter. After counting, it was counted: 300 sets of high-precision hunting crossbows and accessories; 500 mountain bikes; 2,500 various clothing, more than 10,000 pairs of shoes; 2,000 bags of flour, 25 rice 00 bags, 200 bags of soybeans, 500 boxes of cooking oil, MSG, iodized ore salt totaling more than 700 boxes, various jams, salted fish, canned meat, and more than 100 boxes of wine; 500 sets of stainless steel kitchen utensils, cookware, tableware, 1,000 sets of porcelain tableware, 3,000 sets of old aluminum military kettles; 500 shovels, iron picks, 1,200 stainless steel water pipes, and some other hardware tools, cement, building materials and steel bars cannot be counted for the time being."

"The supplies are still sufficient for the time being." Navy officer Wang Qinian looked lucky. That's not the case. If everyone wears empty-handed to a place where birds do not shit, how to solve the problem of eating these hundreds of people? It is impossible to say that they have already sailed to find a place where people are crowded. "At present, we must determine the next action policy, namely how to carry out self-rescue. I think no matter what our current situation is, we must set up temporary residence points on the shore as soon as possible. The cabin cannot be long-term, and the fresh water on the ship is almost exhausted. So many people are crowded together, and things will happen sooner or later."

"Cough..." Peng Zhicheng, who performed well in the previous Indian attacks, cleared his throat and wrote and painted on the paper with ballpoint pens. "The total number of passengers and crew members of Yunsheng No. 1 is 568, including 399 males and 169 females, 42 over 60 years old and 29 under 16 years old. There are 15 veterans and militias who have military experience. In addition, some security guards, once everyone gets off the ship, they are afraid they will be unable to do anything about the security guards."

"Well, I agree with this." Shao Shude, the former construction contractor, nodded. These modern people who are not diligent and free and casual in the wild are really weaker than those savage Indians. "In view of the current situation, I suggest selecting capable personnel, go ashore to search and draw, but must return before nightfall. We will make a decision based on the information brought back by the search team. Everyone rashly disembarks. If they are attacked and casualties are caused, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Yes, the situation is still unclear, and it is best to be careful. Why did the Indians come here today? Why did they conflict with us? Will they come again? Where is their tribe? All these must be clear." Ma Ganzu blew up the ashes and talked freely: "Comrades, I heard that the Indians are easy to fight and will revenge. This is related to our safety. I suggest that the search team be equipped with high-precision hunting crossbows and mountain bikes, and conduct a detailed investigation of the nearby areas."

"I agree with everyone's opinion. Send someone to investigate first, find out the situation before taking further action. It's not too late, and it's still early, so the search team can prepare. You can explain things clearly in one or two sentences. It took a long time to figure it out. Hurry up." Ma Vest ignored everyone's eyes and said simply.

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The search team selected 10 veterans with military experience, plus 9 young people who voluntarily registered. They led by Peng Zhicheng and headed along the river to the inland. Before leaving, Peng Zhicheng briefly trained everyone to use the hunting crossbow. It didn’t require any technology to use this thing, as long as there was strength, it was enough. Liu Weimin sent everyone a blue late Qing army uniform that a crew in the cabin was shipped by a crew in the late Qing Dynasty. The reason was that the uniform was more spirited and could also give everyone a sense of security and honor.

After the search team set off, others could not do nothing and wait.

Wang Qinian took several security guards to board the stranded barges and tugboats on lifeboats. The owner of the tugboat with the license plate "X Tow 1537" was surnamed Zhang, and he and several relatives transported coal to the power plant in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The four barges loaded nearly 5,000 tons of electric coal, plus more than 1,000 tons of scrap steel.

Wang Qinian solemnly announced the requisition order of the temporary self-rescue committee to them. The ship owner was not stupid. He saw what happened yesterday and now, and readily agreed to Wang Qinian's request, which was considered to be officially joining the group. It was gratifying that there were some vegetable seeds in the cabin of the tugboat, as well as many fishing nets and fishing gear, as well as two wolf green dogs locked by iron chains and barking.

Wang Qinian knows very well what vegetable seeds means. Although there is no need to worry about food for the time being, as Chinese, it is unbearable to not eat green leafy vegetables. Once they decide to settle ashore (this seems inevitable in Wang Qinian), these vegetable seeds will greatly enrich their dining table after planting and harvesting.

"Closing the team!" Wang Qinian waved his hand and carefully held the plastic bag containing the vegetable seeds in his arms, returning to the freighter.

"The pier should be built here. A hill on the right is just right to build a lighthouse, um, or a fort." Shao Shude stood on the deck, holding a notebook to write and draw. "As for the living area, the top priority is to build simple wooden houses, canteens, public toilets, and bathhouses. In addition, several large warehouses have to be built, so many supplies have to be properly preserved. By the way, it is best to dig a few wells or a reservoir. Here, here, and here, you need to build a lookout post, and you also need to build a wall outside the entire area, at least a wooden fence. Uh, Xiaoqian, are you listening to me? What are you busy with when you hold a ruler facing the sun?"

Shao Shude grabbed Qian Hao, who was writing calculations with a wooden ruler and a ballpoint pen. Qian Hao looked up and smiled, "Brother Shao, I'm calculating the latitude and longitude we are in. Well, I'll calculate. We are about 33 degrees south latitude and 57 degrees west longitude. This area should be from South America..."

"Uruguay." A middle-aged man leaning on the railing next to him was smoking, and said: "To be precise, he is on the eastern Atlantic coast of Uruguay. Today is October 7th, and the spring in Uruguay is suitable. Even in the Little Ice Age, the temperature at night is at least two or three degrees. I just don't know what era it is now. Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Gaomo, I am a close uncle, a library administrator, and I like to study history and geography."

Gao Mo is quite tall, about 1.78 meters tall, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, a pale face and messy hair, and she looks like a unkempt person.

"Shao Shude, little contractor. This is Qian Hao, my fellow villager, and a college student." Shao Shude stretched out his hand and shook Gao Mo.

"Uruguay in modern society has a population of more than three million, with only a very small number of Indians. He has long integrated into the mainstream society and lived a modern life. Indians like the ones we meet will only appear before the influx of European colonists." Gao Mo smiled, exhaled a smoke ring, and analyzed, "Look at the other side of the river, there are large primitive pine forests. As far as I know, Uruguay in modern society has introduced a large number of alien tree species such as eucalyptus and artificial forests to make money. Such primitive forests are almost impossible to see. Look at this place, the land is so fertile, the climate is so suitable, and the sunshine is so abundant, and it is still a large area of ​​wilderness with no sign of human activity at all. Isn't it amazing?"

"We won't travel until two thousand years ago, right?" Qian Hao asked foolishly.

"That won't be." Gao Mo smiled, "According to Wang Tiehui, those Indians showed signs of attack as soon as they saw them. As far as I understand, the Indians are actually quite friendly. As long as you don't make enemies with them, they generally won't attack you on your own initiative. Judging from Wang Tiehui's experience, most of these Indians have suffered losses from someone's hands, and then mistakenly thought that Wang Tiehui and the others were also those people, and then started attacking. Of course, this is just my guess. Maybe these Indians are particularly warlike, and this is something that is unsure."

"Who is the Indians in Uruguay having a grudge against?" Shao Shude asked. In fact, he already had a vague answer in his heart. Who else can he have grudge against? European colonists.

"The slave capturing team in Portugal," said Gaumo confidently. "In the 17th century, the Portuguese established many small trading sites along the eastern coast of the Uruguay River, and conducted smuggling transactions with Buenos Aires, the Governor of La Plata, Spain. Of course, in addition to smuggling, their other business activity was to go deep into the mainland of Uruguay to capture Indians. Yes, it was a commercial activity. They sold the captured Indians to Sao Paulo, which was filled with Portuguese planters who were looking for slaves all over the world."

"So..." Shao Shude was a little uncertain.

"So we are probably in the late 16th century or the first half of the 17th century. Because in the second half of the 17th century, the competition between Spain and Portugal in Uruguay will be fierce. You will see countless Portuguese flocking from Sao Paulo, and the Spanish also advanced from the La Plata region to the east bank of the Uruguay River. The Indians were killed or hidden from afar. Of course, the above are just my guess."

"It's cruel." Shao Shude shook his head and sighed, "We must also be prepared. Those scumbags from the Portuguese slave hunting team will not let us go. In their eyes, there is no difference between us and the Indians."

Qian Hao opened his mouth wide, as if he had not digested the information yet.

***************************************

In the evening, the search team is back.

The owner of the tugboat, Lao Zhang, took his son and nephew, and rowed a small boat to transport Peng Zhicheng and his men to the freighter.

As soon as Peng Zhicheng got on the boat, he headed straight to the captain's office. Soon, all the committee members rushed over and gathered.

"Old Peng, let's talk about the situation quickly." Xiao Bailang asked the first question without caring about being polite.

Peng Zhicheng walked to the table, drank a big glass of water, then nodded gently, and spread his notebook again. "We walked roughly along this river, walked about ten kilometers and arrived at a lake. In the middle, there were endless meadows. Well, the total length of this river is estimated to be more than twenty kilometers. The upper reaches of the river are slightly narrow, the water flow is relatively slow, and it leads directly to the lake. By the way, that lake is a saltwater lake, and the water of this river is naturally salty and cannot be used as our source of drinking and domestic water. The south bank of the river is a large area of ​​original forest, and there are many fresh water streams with abundant water. There are also some small rivers on the grassland on the north bank, with average water, but it is more than enough for hundreds of us to use. There are no large beasts nearby, and there are no signs of human activity."

"What is the area of ​​the lake? What are the fishery resources?" Liu Weimin was very concerned about this issue.

"Due to the tight time, we haven't had time to investigate the lake, and we don't even know the whole picture of it. But I'm sure it's an inland lake, not an inland bay. Because this lake is a semi-bay lake, and the taste is completely different from the sea water. The fishery resources are rich and many fish can be seen with the naked eye. I think this is a natural treasure house, a gift from God." Peng Zhicheng took a pen and lit it hard in his notebook, and his black face turned red, and he said excitedly.

"Didn't you meet the Indians?" Ma Qianzu combed his big back and looked shiny. He considered the problem more comprehensively and had been resentful of the Indians who were attacking, thinking that he should try to solve this problem first.

"No." Peng Zhicheng shook his head, "In the morning, the Indians fled into the forest across the river. Maybe they had a stronghold there, or their tribal nest was there."

"So if we get off the boat for construction, we will definitely go to the other side of the river to log wood. How can we ensure safety then?" Shao Shude had planned a large area of ​​buildings, and these all require timber on the other side of the river.

"If it really doesn't work, start from the periphery first. Let's send more staff and pay more attention to safety. It should be fine. That's not a dense forest, so it's not difficult to discover any movement in advance." Wang Qinian thought.

"Then do it like this." Ma Vest said loudly. He was already impatient. "I'm so suffocated when I stayed in this cabin. Without further ado, I'll use the tweeter to notify everyone later, and solicit more opinions. The construction will start tomorrow morning."
Chapter completed!