As they were talking, they arrived at the West Mountain of Dongting.
There are continuous mountains rising from the lake, and you can't see south from the north.
Xishan is the largest island on Taihu Lake and also the largest island in the lake during the Ming Dynasty. It is as big as five Suzhou cities!
On the boat, Jiang Xueying introduced everything to Zhao Hao:
"Dongting Xishan Island is known for 'two rivers, three breaks, six dead ends, seven villages, eight lanes, nine miles and thirteen bays'. This means that the two rivers, Jinduo River and Zhengjinggang, divide Xishan Island into three unconnected parts. Xuanyang Cave is not connected to Yanbian, Duzhu is not connected to Houbu, Qi Village is not connected to Shilutou, and Kejialing is not connected to Luwan."
"The six unique places mean that there are six other places that are inaccessible and need to be ferried. They are Lu Village, Duzhu, Qi Village, Shigong Mountain, Ju Mountain, and Fengwang Mountain."
"There is no need to elaborate on the seven villages, eight alleys, nine miles and thirteen bays. Originally, there were seven villages on the island, with nearly a thousand households. But a few years ago, there was a Japanese invasion. The Japanese pirates entered Taihu Lake along the Wusong River and killed and looted Xishan Island several times. The surviving people all fled Xishan, and it has not been repopulated until now."
"Yes, the pirates are setting up their nest here. How can the common people survive?" Zhao Hao nodded.
"There really aren't many pirates here." Jiang Xueying said softly, "This is the ancestral property of the Dongting Chamber of Commerce. Even the Taihu Commander was driven away. How can we allow pirates to set up camp here?"
"This is called the darkest place under the lamp. It is precisely because everyone believes that there will be no pirates on the West Mountain that they hide here." Zhao Hao pointed at the high mountains and dense forests in front of him and said:
"Look at this high mountain with dense forests. It's a perfect place for bandits to hide. It's a breeding ground for pirates."
Jiang Xueying's eyes flickered, and she nodded, "Brother, you are really knowledgeable. I took it for granted."
"Right." Zhao Hao sighed and said, "Sister, you are really frightened. Did you forget that you are imprisoned here?"
"That's right." Jiang Xueying nodded with tears in her eyes and asked, "My little sister was so frightened that she didn't even remember being locked up in that mountain."
"It's the one in the south." Zhao Hao said seriously.
"Yes, it's that Yuanshan Mountain." Jiang Xueying nodded and said softly, "There is a Dasheng Bay at the foot of the mountain. It is a natural shelter. There used to be a fishing village called Dongcun there. The pirates occupied Dongcun as their den and locked us up there."
"Although we have rescued the girl, the pirates have hidden in the mountains. Their accomplices will also come from other islands to reinforce us, so we can't return rashly to avoid being attacked again on the lake." Zhao Hao said in a deep voice: "We should hold on and wait for help, build fortifications as soon as possible, and plan to stay for a long time."
"Brother, your arrangement is very appropriate. I fully agree with it." Jiang Xueying nodded and said softly, "We happen to have five ships of food, which can last us for most of the year. But what about Kunshan?"
"Don't worry, sister. Before Brother Jin came, the first batch of grain shipped from Taicang had already arrived in the county. Pan Zhongcheng, the head of the river department, who was in mourning at home, also came to Kunshan to take charge. We can live here peacefully until the court eliminates all the Taihu bandits..."
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it." Jiang Xueying nodded happily, thinking that the longer she stayed, the better.
Although Miss Jiang still doesn't know what's so good about this rocky West Mountain, it doesn't stop her from trying her best to cooperate with her brother's performance.
Well, only by appearing to be in tune with each other can I increase my brother's favorability.
Just act it out, there will be a moment of revelation anyway.
Following Jiang Xueying's instructions, the fleet docked in the crescent-shaped Dasheng Bay.
Zhao Hao stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the lush greenery and rolling mountains before him, and couldn't help feeling as if he was in another world.
He remembered that when he passed by this place on a ferry in his previous life, this place had turned into a series of lakes that looked like big pits.
In other words, it's a big pit like a lake.
It was dug out by generations of workers...
When I think about the fact that we have to start destroying the environment three hundred years in advance, I feel a little guilty.
Alas, if there were any other choice, Master Zhao would be reluctant to touch these clear waters and green mountains.
This is a land bestowed by God on China, to be passed on to future generations!
But who can blame the fact that there is only one precious place, Xishan, in Jiangnan?
Master Zhao's grand ambition to save the nation must take the first step from here.
Especially after seeing those flintlock rifles, Zhao Hao became even more nervous.
In this competition where either the east wind prevails over the west wind or the west wind prevails over the east wind, we are already a long way behind others and must catch up at all costs.
Forget it, the fire has already reached my eyebrows, let’s pollute first and then clean it up…
After the scientific method used by Mr. Zhao was self-consistent, his sense of guilt disappeared completely.
He didn't walk on the steps, but jumped directly from the side of the boat onto the wooden dock, raised his hands high and cheered: "Xishan, here I come!"
Hmm, why do I feel like I've said this somewhere before?
Just as Jiang Xueying said, Dasheng Bay is a natural shelter. There is a small fishing village covered with weeds on the bayside, and an abandoned fishing boat dock that creaks when you step on it.
Five large grain ships, ten sand ships for transporting troops, a dozen speedboats, and more than twenty captured gunboats... Fifty ships of all sizes filled the dock, and the dead silent harbor suddenly became lively.
"Get off the boat, get off the boat!" Amid the shouts of the veterans, the Kunshan militia escorted the prisoners off the boat in a line.
Wu Ji's men and sailors also got off the boat in a daze under the steward's command.
After a period of chaos, Wu Ji, the militia, and the prisoners all gathered and stood still in the net drying yard next to the dock.
Zhao Hao and Jin Ke stood on a huge rock and saw a crowd of people. "I'm afraid there are more than a thousand people?"
"Almost." Jin Ke nodded and said in a deep voice: "I brought 610 people with me, Wu Ji has 87 people, and there are 147 prisoners. If you count your entourage, that's 900 people."
"Good fellow." Young Master Zhao said with a wry smile, "Fortunately, we have five grain ships, otherwise we would have a problem with food."
"We won't have to worry about food and drink for half a year." Jin Ke nodded and asked softly, "But sir, do we really want to stay here?"
"Of course, this is a treasure land, Brother Jin." Zhao Hao stepped on the boulder under his feet and said, "This thing is only produced here in the whole Suzhou."
Jin Ke squatted down and carefully examined the large gray-white stone. After a month of heavy rain, it was now spotless and white, with nothing special to point out.
Brother Jin raised his head and waited for the young master's explanation.
"This is limestone. No, to be more precise, it's limestone used for cement!" Zhao Hao said with an excited smile, "The entire Taihu Lake is made of limestone, but only the limestone in the West Mountain can be used to make cement!"
"And in the entire Jiangnan region, only Xishan has coal mines!" He paused, unable to suppress his excitement, and said:
"In addition, there is precious pyrite! This is a heaven-sent treasure, but its value can only be realized in my hands!"
"So Xishan must belong to me!"
ps. The first of three weekend updates!