On November 13, 1649, thunder and heavy rainstorms in Xinhua Port.

After two days of emergency consultation, the local supreme commander, Shi Qinjie, captain of the New China Development Team, decided to send some ships of the Second Fleet to the Port of Abbas in Persia, and together with two expedition ships of Captain Jiwen and others, to conduct a "friendly visit" again. If possible - in fact, this is the most important purpose of their trip - they will re-arrange the letter of commercial cooperation between the two sides with the Safavi dynasty of Persia. Of course, the Persians have the right to refuse, but that may push the powerful East Coast fleet to the side of their enemy, the Portuguese. They should make a good choice wherever they go.

However, when choosing which ships to go to Abbas Port, the naval major Guo Zili, who was recently transferred to the commander of the Second Fleet, was in trouble. Because the current second naval fleet is too shabby, the number of warships has not increased for many years, only one battleship, three fast cruisers, and one armed transport ship (this ship modified with steam power is even doing the transportation of the New China Island), with a total of five ships of all sizes, which is incomparable to the local First Fleet.

After considering it, Shi Qinjie and Guo Zili were really embarrassed and were embarrassed to send only one flagship, Free Trade, to Persia. Therefore, in the end, he gritted his teeth and sent the armed transport ship of the "Voyager" seized from the Netherlands, forming a four-ship formation with two expedition ships, heading to Abbas Port to show off his power and launch the first "gunboat diplomacy" in the history of the East Coast Republic.

It is said that since Guo Zili returned from Europe and was promoted to a naval major, he quickly went to Xinhua Port to take office and served as the commander of the Second Fleet. As for the former commander of the Second Fleet, Captain Wang Tiechung, he was transferred back to the local area. It is rumored that he will soon be promoted to the Navy Major and serve as the commander of the upcoming Third Fleet. The former flagship of the Second Fleet "Common Market" will also be transferred to the Third Fleet combat sequence (currently temporarily incorporated into the First Fleet) as the flagship of the fleet.

Major Li Yi, one of the three giants of the second generation of the East Coast Navy, is said to be likely to replace Lu Ming, who will serve as the commander of the Navy next year, as the most honorable commander of the first fleet. He is truly under one person in the naval system, above ten thousand people, and is in the limelight. At the same time, it also makes Wang Tiechu and Guo Zili envious and jealous.

After the flagship "Free Trade" and other two ships left, the remaining three fast cruise ships, the "Choyong", "Zhenwu", and "Jingwu" will guard the gateway and ensure the safety of the routes between the ports of New China Island under the leadership of the Navy Captain Han Dezhi and Deputy Commander of the Second Fleet.

The situation in New China Island is quite subtle now, so it’s not okay to be careful.

Since the Dutch's relationship with the East Coast has improved, they have basically given up the operation of the Turaire Merchant Station - because it is not profitable at all. Currently, the Turaire Merchant Station has only a few dozen European mercenaries guarding a miniature masonry fortress (as a trading station and a place for slaves) and more than a dozen Baroque stone houses. According to rumors circulating in the market, the Dutch East India Company is currently cutting off non-profit projects, and they are likely to give up the Turaire Merchant Station far away in New China Island, that is, the dozens of mercenaries in the trading station are likely to face the dilemma of unemployment after the contract expires.

However, they are not without a way out. At present, the New China Development Team of the East Coast Republic is actively engaged with the Dutch East India Company to see if they can buy all the Dutch assets in Toulaire at a low price, including a miniature fortress, twelve stone houses, hundreds of hectares of arable land, more than one hundred livestock and mercenaries' employment contracts. If the Dutch agrees, it is almost a win-win situation for both sides. The Dutch deals with the non-performing assets, and the East Coast people have obtained a preliminarily developed colonial stronghold, and further consolidates their advantages on the west coast of New China Island (there are currently two strongholds in the Beidao Lobster Port and Mianhe Port on the west coast).

Shi Qinjie worked hard in New China Island to this day, and has regarded the entire island as his forbidden body and is almost untouchable to others. It is okay for the Dutch to be half dead at the commercial station in Touler, but the gradual expansion of the French on the island in recent years has made him feel a little uneasy. After all, this is a powerful competitor! If they are willing, they can migrate a large number of French farmers to this world's fourth largest island in minutes to compete with the East Coast people.

At present, the French have basically greatly expanded the scope of the Dovan Fort (later Tauranaru) colony. When the French first arrived in 1643, they only built a stone fortress on the cliffs of the cape as the base of the expedition. From this time on, the French began their colonization steps on New China Island: they built a coastal defense fort on the cape, they opened up arable land in the port, and they built a dock on the shore. Not to mention that, they later seduced some French immigrant technicians in the east coast towns defected and brought many drawings of hydraulic machinery to Dovan Fort. Although the East Coast people had no evidence on this matter, Shi Qinjie and others unanimously believed that it was done by the French, and this was the beginning of the deterioration of relations between the East and France on New China Island.

In 1645 and 1646, the East Coast instructed the compilation of the island of St. Mary to attack the French colony of Dovanburg, but they were both repelled, which undoubtedly further deteriorated the relations between the two countries. Stimulated by this, the French government not only sent a lot of army troops from the country, but also moved a considerable number of landless farmers to come here to reclaim. Later, the Mazaran government sent more than 2,000 Protestants who were excluded in France twice in a row to settle west of Dovanburg.

Located near the Mananipasi River in later generations, on the northern shore of Andrea Bell Lake, backed by mountains, it is a rare coastal plain or low hilly area. The terrain facing the sea is wide and it is a typical subtropical monsoon climate. It is much milder than the northern core area occupied by people on the east coast: the temperature is lower, cooler, and the rainfall is less (but it is still no less than 1,500 mm per year). It is indeed a very good stronghold - at least there are fewer mosquitoes here than in the north, and the chance of malaria will be greatly reduced.

The French built a large-scale construction in this place named Saint Louis. They enslaved a large number of natives to open mountains and collect stones, built forts and houses for them. At the same time, they also used the seeds bought from the Portuguese to plant rice, corn, and some tropical fruits along the river. It seemed that they wanted to combine these two strongholds (St. Louis, Fort Dovan) into a piece and build a supply base for French ships.

At present, a considerable number of French merchants have planned to "take risks" in the East. They are extremely jealous of the trade profits obtained by the Dutch, British, Portuguese and even Danes in the East. They have been clamoring that the Mazaran government gives merchants the charter and monopoly of trade rights, giving them sufficient motivation to sail to the East. From this background, the strongholds of Duofenburg and Saint-Louis can provide these French ships with shelter and supplies in the middle, and their strategic position is still very important.

Shi Qinjie knew the French's ideas, but he had long regarded the entire island as property on the east coast and could not tolerate all the French colonial activities here. After secretly instigating the incorporated pirates to attack the French and returned in a defeat, Shi Qinjie first ordered the severance of trade ties with the two colonial strongholds of France, and then grabbed the Portuguese and let them join the trade blockade alliance against the French. Unfortunately, the Portuguese did not cooperate very much, which made Shi Qinjie more annoyed.

The further intensification of the conflict between the two sides. A few months ago, Schenjie received a report that two French ships suddenly entered the Bay of Antongier and landed ashore near the city of Maruantetra opposite the Island of Mangabe in later generations. They communicated with local natives and were said to have signed a trade agreement. According to this agreement, French ships can dock at this port at will, which undoubtedly poses a serious threat to the rule of the East Coast people on New China Island. Schenjie himself regarded this as an absolute provocative signal sent by a Frenchman.

In order to respond to the provocations of the French, Shi Qinjie recently wondered whether to push the strongholds of the East Coast people to the noses of the French, and let the French taste this taste. He even chose the location, not far northeast of the French Castle of Dovan, near the estuary of Lake Mananivo in later generations, the straight distance from Dovan Castle is only a few dozen kilometers away. It just so happened that the coffee trees introduced by the East Coast people did not grow well in the northern region. Experts from the Ministry of Agriculture also suggested that the planting location be transferred to the mountainous areas in the southeast of New China Island (the main coffee producing areas in Madagascar in later generations are here, and the altitude, climate and soil are very suitable for the growth of coffee trees). This made Shi Qinjie immediately determined to kill two birds with one stone.

He planned to migrate hundreds of Ming people to this place to settle in the late and early next year, and then drive a large number of island Eight Banner tribes to build wharfs, castles and forts. After all this, he will continue to migrate a group of new immigrants to the inland mountainous areas here, open coffee plantations, develop the economy, take root here, and confront the French.
Chapter completed!