Four days later, the fleet arrived at Eluanbi, the southernmost tip of Taiwan Island.

Eluanbi, also known as South Cape, faces Luzon across the Bashi Channel. It is named because it is connected to Hengchun Hills in the north, surrounded by mountains and the sea, and protrudes like a goose nose.

There is a Qixingyan reef in the sea area south of Eluanbi. During the training in the Bashi Channel, the fleet directly under the garrison suffered a serious reef accident. Afterwards, a conspicuous lighthouse was erected on Qixingyan and Eluanbi as a landmark.

Of the two lighthouses, the Eluanbi Lighthouse is the most prominent. It is called a lighthouse, but in fact it is an armed tower, painted white and made of brick, stone and concrete. It is 60 meters high and has five floors, including warehouses, artillery batteries and barracks.

There are trenches, walls and barbed wire outside the lighthouse. The entire top of the tower is a water storage area, and rainwater is collected along cement pipes into four large water storage tanks under the tower. After sedimentation and filtration, it can provide self-sufficiency for 400 people.

This may be the most expensive lighthouse in the world. Its construction cost is as high as 150,000 taels of silver, and another 50,000 taels of silver are needed every year to maintain the garrison.

But this expenditure is necessary because the security situation in Taiwan is still very serious. The lighthouse is surrounded by mountains and ridges, and the mountains are full of cannibals who refuse to be civilized. There are also South China Sea pirates on the sea. If you don't build a solid turtle shell, you will be robbed in a minute.

In addition, the Kenting Weather Station is also located on the tower, which can provide valuable typhoon warnings for Taiwan and the mainland.

The Dengta Police Station worked closely with the Kenting Security Team and organized the local Langqiao people of the Pingpu ethnic group to go into the mountains to carry out clearing operations and burn down villages, forcing the savages in the mountains to migrate far north, and they were basically extinct in the Hengchun Peninsula.

This way the management committee can develop animal husbandry in Hengchun Plain with peace of mind. Otherwise, no matter how many cattle are raised, they will not be enough for the aboriginals to snatch.

Especially in the past two years, Luzon has been in turmoil, and a large number of refugees have crossed the Bashi Channel and taken refuge on Taiwan Island. If it weren't for the strong military presence, would they have obeyed the command of the Management Committee and, after simple training and education, been assigned to various ranches to herd cattle and milk?

Therefore, we should never only consider economic accounts. Without security as the first priority, no matter how many zeros the economy creates, they will all be a feast for robbers.

~~

It was late at night when the fleet arrived at Eluanbi, but the bright light from the lighthouse was still clearly visible on the sea more than ten miles away. It is said that when the weather is fine, the light from the lighthouse can be seen fifty miles away, drawing a beautiful arc on the dark sea.

In fact, the light source of the lighthouse is a whale oil lamp. Whales often appear in the Qixingyan Sea area, but burning whale oil alone is far from enough to achieve such brightness.

This is thanks to the 11th Institute of Xishan Island Research Center - Institute of Optics. After accepting the commission from the Coast Guard, the researchers first fired a cylindrical glass tube to cover the brazier burning whale oil, allowing the flame to burn stably and fully, thus solving the problem of the erratic and flickering flame and increasing the brightness of the flame by six or seven times.

After the light source was stabilized, the researchers tried to place a curved mirror behind the light source and a Fresnel lens in front of it. Of course, Fresnel would not be born until two hundred years later, so Mr. Zhao named it the lighthouse lens in his book Principles of Optics.

This not only greatly increases the light projection distance, but also greatly reduces the weight of the lens, allowing the administrator to easily rotate the base of the lampstand so that the light can slowly illuminate a large area of ​​the sea.

Under the guidance of the lighthouse, the fleet arrived at the Houbihu Coast Guard Wharf accurately and entered the port smoothly under the guidance of the pilot boat.

The dock was brightly lit, the fort fired a 21-gun salute, and all the large and small coast guard ships hoisted full flags and used light language to send signals, extending the highest welcome to His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief.

When Zhao Hao got ashore, he saw a red carpet laid out on the dock and a guard of honor of the coast guard in formal attire lined up in a solemn formation.

Jin Ke, commander and political commissar of the Taiwan Garrison District, with three gold stars on his white police hat, and Ma Yinglong, police commissioner of the Coast Guard Strategic Fleet, with two gold stars on his hat, led a group of senior police officers and had been waiting for a long time.

Amid the solemn "March of the Coast Guard", Mr. Zhao's commander-in-chief flag was slowly raised on the dock.

After reviewing the guard of honor, Zhao Hao ordered them to return to rest immediately and all the warships turned off the lights immediately.

Then he said to Jin Ke, "Add one more rule to the regulations: All welcoming ceremonies will be cancelled at night or in bad weather. No matter how important the ceremony is, it cannot affect the rest and health of the officers and soldiers."

Jin Ke quickly wrote it down.

"Where is Lao Wang?" Zhao Hao had already discovered that his number one thug, Fleet Commander Wang Rulong, was not present.

"Oh, don't mention it. He ate stewed dog meat the day before yesterday afternoon, and he rolled around in pain in the middle of the night." Jin Ke smiled bitterly, "The doctor said it was an acute intestinal abscess, and he might need surgery. I quickly sent him back to Fengshan Base."

Zhao Hao was speechless. Intestinal abscess is appendicitis, and Lao Wang had acute appendicitis... He got the disease at a really timely time.

Fortunately, he is now like a saint and a wise man, and he won't say such low-level words. He only asked with concern: "Can the garrison hospital treat it? Do you want to ask Dean Li to perform the operation?"

In this era, laparotomy is a major surgery. If it is not handled properly, Mr. Zhao will lose his general forever. Li Lunming, the director of the Coast Guard General Hospital, is considered to be the best surgeon in the Ming Dynasty. It is more reliable to entrust such an operation to him.

"We sent an urgent letter to Hong Kong as soon as possible." Jin Ke said with a worried look on his face, "Today I received a letter via carrier pigeon saying that President Li has returned to Jiangnan for a meeting..."

"Yes." Zhao Hao nodded. The Second Five-Year Plan required Jiangnan Medical Group to launch a "National War Against Epidemic" campaign in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong. On the basis of further eliminating schistosomiasis, it would vigorously promote cowpox vaccination and strive to defeat smallpox as soon as possible.

This is a matter of great merit and fortune. The group attaches great importance to it, and Jiangnan Medical has made it a top priority. A general mobilization meeting should be held now.

Zhao Hao had originally planned to attend this meeting, but the matter in Luzon was more urgent, so he could only let Jiang Xueying attend on his behalf.

"Is Chen Shigong in Hong Kong?" Mr. Zhao asked again.

"He is here. He had already set out for Fengshan when the letter was sent." Jin Ke said, "But isn't Doctor Chen a little too young?"

"He is two years older than me." Zhao Hao said confidently, "Dean Li's apprentice has been studying surgical skills since he was young, and has received a complete new medical education at Jiangnan Medical College. There will definitely be no problem."

"That's great." Jin Ke put his mind at ease. If the young master said someone could do it, then he would definitely be able to do it.

"Okay, don't be so stern. Even without Wang the Butcher, we can still eat hairy pigs." Zhao Hao waved his hand and said to everyone, "It's already this late, go back to sleep first. We can talk about it tomorrow, no matter how big the problem is!"

"Yes!" the police officers responded in unison.

~~

The next morning, Zhao Hao was awakened by the wakeup call. He put on the blue shorts and blue and white striped sailor shirt issued by the Shanghai police in summer, picked up rubber-soled running shoes, and went out to the barracks for a run with Brother Gao.

In the morning sun, I saw the blue sea and sky, the coconut groves and beaches, the strange coral reefs, and flocks of seabirds foraging at the pier. It was a tropical scenery.

After running for only two steps, Jin Ke caught up with him in the same outfit. He had a dark complexion, strong muscles, a shaved head, and a shaved beard. He exuded a martial spirit and did not look like a general of the Ming Dynasty at all.

"What a beautiful scenery." The two of them jogged side by side along the beach. Zhao Hao looked around and said happily, "Brother Jin really knows how to choose a place."

"It's beautiful, but unfortunately this dock is too shallow and can only accommodate ships under 500 tons. Our battleships and cruisers have to be parked in Fengshan Port." Jin Ke sighed and said, "How come there are so few proper harbors on such a large island like Taiwan?"

"We can't help it. Although Taiwan's coastline is long, it is very straight. The west coast is too shallow, while the East China Sea is steep and steep, so it is difficult to have a good deep-water port." Zhao Hao smiled and said, "It's okay. After we recover Luzon, we will move our headquarters to Manila. What they lack the most is natural harbors."

"Yes." Jin Ke nodded with a smile and said, "Will the headquarters also be located in Manila by then?"

"Yes, the headquarters is located there!" Zhao Hao expanded his chest and asked, "Speaking of which, how are your preparations going?"

"According to the commander-in-chief's order, the strategic fleet is ready to go." Jin Ke replied solemnly, "The soldiers have been fighting pirates for the past few years and have long been looking forward to fighting a strong enemy."

"Yeah." Zhao Hao nodded.

"But the results of the investigation by the General Office and the Group Intelligence Department show that the key to this battle is probably not at sea." Jin Ke smiled bitterly, "Because the Spanish built the city of Santiago on the basis of the old royal city of Manila, which is beyond the range of our naval guns."

"This is normal. A world military power that has been engaged in endless wars will not make the same mistake as Japan." Zhao Hao nodded and said, "I remember that the royal city of the Manila Sultanate was originally built by the river, right?"

"Yes, it is on the south bank of the Pasig River that flows into Manila Bay. According to the information provided by the trading house, the river is about 100 meters wide and seriously silted up, with the shallowest part only two meters deep. So when large ships arrive in Manila, they load and unload at the dock outside the river mouth. The materials needed by Santiago City are transported into the Pasig River by bamboo rafts or sand ships."

"Yes." Zhao Hao nodded and asked, "Where are the Spanish warships parked?"

"They are not in the castle. Instead, they are in a natural harbor surrounded by a cape thirty miles from the mouth of the Pasig River. They are guarding the bay and responding to the enemies in the castle from afar." Jin Ke frowned and said, "And they have also built artillery batteries and castles in the military port. The military quality of these red-haired devils is extremely high. This battle will not be easy to win."

Then he changed the subject and said proudly: "But because of this, this battle must be fought sooner, because the later it is, the harder it will be to fight!"

Then he explained: "I heard that their methods are very sophisticated, not just killing and intimidating. It is said that they have reconquered an indigenous tribe called the Pampanga people. The Pampanga people have sent troops to assist them in fighting everywhere. Given time, once they have completely established their foothold, it will cost us a lot more to replace them."

ps. The war is about to begin, so I need to calm down my thoughts. I will only write one chapter today.