Chapter 562 New Mountain Port
The winter monsoon and winter currents in the Indian Ocean are very strong. Qin Mo's fleet consisted entirely of fast transport ships. With favorable winds and currents and familiarity with the routes, they arrived at Johor Bahru, the deepest port in the Persian Gulf, just over ten days after leaving Singapore.
When the Da Yuan Elf Clan and the Sea Clan formed an alliance, they designated several territories in the Middle East, declaring that these areas would belong to Da Yuan. The territory spanning hundreds of miles around Xinshan Port was one of them. In Qin Mo's memory, this place also had another name—Kuwait.
The entire peninsula region consists of three large deserts and an inland plateau running from south to north. The only habitable areas are a narrow strip of land along the Mesopotamian River, the Persian Gulf coast, and the Indian Ocean coast, and Kuwait is located right in the middle of this narrow oasis.
"Greetings, Your Highness; Greetings, Lady Chengtian; Greetings, Uncle Xu..."
Qiao Erlang, the director of the Dayuan Development Administration's Middle East office, had received advance notice that Qin Mo was coming to Xinshan Port and came to wait for him early. After Qin Mo arrived at the shore, Qiao Erlang led the local garrison officers and commanders onto the ship to greet Qin Mo and his party according to their rank and seniority.
The Grand Minister now has a considerable number of personnel in the Middle East. The military has provided the Sea Clan with an artillery regiment, which comprises four artillery battalions with two hundred cannons. There is also a regular infantry regiment with nearly eight thousand infantrymen stationed at several important ports. In addition, there are the navy and various other departments and guard units. There are quite a few leaders in all these areas, but they all look to be under thirty years old. This is a hallmark of the Grand Minister's cadres—a youthful cadre system.
"Hey! Erlang's gotten quite chubby in the last few years. He's having a pretty good time as the head of this office!"
"Your Highness, if you were to make me the captain of a steamship right now, I would immediately lose weight and resign!" Qiao Erlang's father was Qin Mo's direct subordinate, so he wasn't particularly afraid of Qin Mo.
Qiao Erlang didn't graduate from a proper naval academy, but he took a different path and became a pirate captain who did the dirty work for Qin Mo, finally fulfilling his dream of becoming a ship captain.
Later, when a first-class ship was commissioned in Da Yuan, he became obsessed with becoming its captain. He deserted his post and returned to Da Yuan to complain to his mother. His father, Master Qiao, was a big shot at the Da Yuan shipyard! If things had been handled properly, the matter would have been settled. However, Qiao Erlang's elder brother was a staff officer in the military. When he learned that Qiao Erlang had deserted his post, he wanted to put family members aside. In the end, Lin Bo and Lin Huaiyuan acted as peacemakers and transferred Qiao Erlang to Lin Yongqian's Development Administration Bureau as the director of the Aden Office. After several years, he became the director of the Middle East region.
"Your Highness, please transfer me back! I can command first-class ships like it's nothing now, and I guarantee my skills are top-notch!"
"This matter falls under the jurisdiction of the military! You'll have to go find your older brother!"
"I beg him... Your Highness, you're not joking, are you? All the affairs of high-ranking officials are under your jurisdiction..."
When Qiao Dalang wanted to use military law against his brother, Qiao Erlang didn't say anything and first had a free-fighting match with his elder brother. The staff officer who was used to sitting in the office was no match for the murderous and arsonist pirate leader. In the end, he was beaten up and lost face. Over the years, Qiao Erlang wanted to return to the fleet to take up a post several times, but he was suppressed by his elder brother.
"Erlang! I heard you're doing quite well in this area! You even have a sworn brother from Goryeo, what's his name again?"
"I... I haven't harmed the people of Great Xia, Your Highness..."
Qiao Erlang's knees buckled and he almost couldn't stand. If there hadn't been a lot of people around, he would have knelt down on the spot.
Qiao Erlang and Jin Wuxin both came from the "ghost ship" troops in Southeast Asia. After arriving in Aden, they were quiet for a while. Once they were familiar with their opponents and the terrain, the group of guys with guns and men simply registered a pioneering company and started the business of armed trafficking.
Their footprints are all over the Red Sea, the Arab world, and the east coast of Africa. If the price is reasonable, that's fine. But if they try to drive down the price, that's easy to deal with. We follow the rules. We'll sell you the goods during the day and make a profit by the end of the night. We'll also bring your wife and daughter home to take care of them for you!
"Alright, since you haven't evaded any taxes, you can stay here for now. We'll reserve a suitable position for you later!"
"Your Highness, I really want to go back to the Navy. If I had stayed in the Navy, I would be a fleet commander by now..."
"Damn it, which ship in the Aden Squadron haven't you sailed with? You think I don't know? Why don't you switch with Leng Qiu tomorrow?"
Qin Mo raised her foot and kicked, startling Qiao Erlang, who quickly retreated. Then, realizing it was inappropriate, he sheepishly slipped back, his expression conflicted and aggrieved, which made the others laugh.
The Dai-Yuan Development Administration did not have direct jurisdiction over the local garrison, but all garrison troops had the obligation to cooperate with the Development Administration in colonization. Therefore, Qiao Erlang had an excellent relationship with Leng Qiu, the commander of the squadron. He would always go out to sea for training and have a go at it. Otherwise, he would not have boasted that he was "skilled".
"Alright, first arrange for the Seventh Regiment to land and set up camp, then send a message to the strong members of the sea tribe to come and discuss the grouping!"
Qin Mo has already instructed Audrey to inform Shia to gather at least twenty powerful sea creatures to participate in this joint operation to wipe out the Legion of the Dead.
"Your Highness, after receiving the news, I began preparing the camp, but there is only one brigade stationed in Johor Bahru, and the camp is quite rudimentary. I hope Your Highness will forgive me!"
"Thank you for your hard work, brothers. It's just a temporary camp, as long as there's a water source, that's fine!"
Ren Qing, the brigade commander of the garrison at Xinshan Port, breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Qin Mo's words. Although Xinshan Port was one of the overseas territories designated by Qin Mo, it had not yet demonstrated any value. Therefore, unlike important ports such as Aden and Muscat, it did not have a large number of troops stationed there. Only a brigade of marines was symbolically stationed there.
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