"Brother Sun, are you in the Yamen today?" Faced with Sun Chuanting's teasing, Lu Xiangsheng was inexplicably surprised. It's not surprising that he was like this. Anyone who visited the customs many times in a row and got the answer that he had not returned home would be surprised.

Treat this unexpected encounter as a surprise.

"Haha, look at what you said, where would I be if I wasn't in the Yamen?" Sun Chuanting laughed. Lu Xiangsheng's knowledge and insights were very suitable to his taste. After the two came to this Shanghai County together, they often exchanged government affairs. It can be said that they have a good relationship.

The above is an irreversible relationship.

"I have been here more than ten times and I have never met you." Lu Xiangsheng also smiled. Although he does not come to the port every time he inspects, he has never met Sun Chuanting here every time. Today is still the first time.

Second-rate.

"It's just that I happened to be away. Now the terrain and water patterns around here are almost explored, and I won't be so busy in the future." Sun Chuanting explained that compared with political affairs officials like the county magistrate, he, the director of the Customs Department,

He can be regarded as an affairs officer, so he naturally has to handle specific matters. Now that the customs is located in Shanghai Port and is part-time in the management of the port, he naturally has to conduct a detailed investigation of the surrounding sea areas to understand his jurisdiction and where.

Where there are reefs, there are rapids.

Sun Chuanting went out to sea by boat every day, and kept observing and recording with his hands. It took him several months to finally figure out the general situation. Today is a pragmatic person, and these accumulated water pattern data are his most recent

important political achievements.

The reason why Zhu Xieyuan, the governor of Sichuan, was able to rise to the top in one fell swoop and stand out among the many second-rank officials such as governors and governors in the world is because he has made real political achievements. The lucky ones who were promoted at the Great Chao Meeting in the first month of this year have emerged from Conglongzhi.

Apart from merit, there is nothing better than this.

As an aspiring young man, after he has probably figured out the emperor's routine, he will naturally work hard in this direction. Sun Chuanting is like this, and Lu Xiangsheng is like this. The reason why Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng fall in love is naturally because the other party also realizes this, and he

His subordinates or the other party's subordinates, but no one could understand it. Instead, they were very confused about how diligent their boss was.

Nowadays, the world is in turmoil and the situation is changing rapidly. Your Majesty is also the hero. As a conscientious person, it is natural to start from the grassroots level. Lu Xiangsheng also quietly realized this, so he very much agreed with Sun Chuanting's actions and praised him with emotion, "

Brother Sun's hard work will surely reach heaven."

Sun Chuanting smiled and said nothing. Smart people don't need to speak thoroughly, just a few words will do.

Just when the two of them were looking at each other and laughing, and had a tacit understanding, on the vast blue sea in the distance, among the shadowy island figures, suddenly appeared some small white dots and a section of white shadow. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that

It was some seagulls. Sun Chuanting happened to be facing the direction of the sea at this time, so he naturally noticed this situation as soon as it appeared.

"Is this a seagull? A ship is coming? That white part is the sail?" After running around on the beach for several months, Sun Chuanting is no stranger to the habits of seagulls. These sea elves like to gather around human ships.

Dance lightly.

"Seagull? Is there a boat?" Lu Xiangsheng looked at Sun Chuanting, who was stunned, and suddenly turned around, excitedly looking at the boat with half of his body exposed.

Under the gaze of the two men, this Galen ship, which seemed quite lonely and had numerous soft sails and complicated sails, cut through the waves and followed the route planned by the lighthouse on the island and the buoys on the sea.

"Okay, you're still a skilled man!" Sun Chuanting praised. The other party's light and skillful movements made Sun Chuanting think more. The Ming Dynasty had banned the sea for a long time, and it was no longer as grand as the Yongle period. The port construction was also extremely backward, and Tianjin Port

Everything is different.

The construction of Shanghai Port consulted a large number of Western missionaries for design, and the planning was quite scientific and reasonable. Hundreds of years of white people's navigation skills were reflected here. Looking at the other party's very familiar look, Sun Chuanting could immediately conclude that,

This is a foreign ship.

You know, after the completion of Shanghai Port, although not many ships docked, the navy's transport fleet and the merchant ships of Tiangong Company still came and went. Every time they entered the port, they were in a mess and needed to be sent out by the port to tow. Judging from this, this

This Western novel is definitely not from the Ming Dynasty.

"Business is coming." Sun Chuanting said excitedly, and then quickly ran towards the nearest gun tower position. Although the port staff he brought did not know what was going on, they all followed their leaders and ran away.

"Business?" Lu Xiangsheng is also a smart person. From Sun Chuanting's few words, he quickly woke up like a shark that smelled the smell of blood, and also ran up excitedly. The left and right county magistrates, left and right chief regents and various other officials from other counties

The department chiefs looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what excited them, but in the end, they still followed. They couldn't let themselves lead someone there alone, that would be too embarrassing.

The nearest coastal defense artillery position was built on a high ground inside the port. It was originally a slope. After the blasting, the highest point was left. After being reinforced with sand, gravel and cement, it became a position. The position is not big.

There are only five bunker-like forts and a tall watchtower.

The bunker is divided into two floors. The first floor is a storage area for artillery shells and a resting place for the garrison. The upper floor is a cannon with a large caliber, showing unparalleled power. There are five forts, all of which have a range of 5 kilometers.

Cannon. Although its range is the same as that of a 12-pound cannon, its terrifying tonnage reaches over four tons, which is extremely unsuitable for the army and navy. It is only useful as a coastal defense artillery that does not need to be moved.

The top of the cannon is open-air and covered with tents, making it very easy to remove. The current construction technology is not enough to build a fort with a protective layer like that of later generations. It can only be so particular.

When Sun Chuanting ran up with a large group of people behind him, the city defense soldiers stationed here suddenly panicked, thinking that the rebels came from somewhere and wanted to seize the position. This is terrible. The range of the fort here is enough to cover

Huating County in the distance, oh no, is Shanghai County.

Fortunately, the soldiers on the watchtower used binoculars to see clearly that the person coming was the leader of the customs, so they sent out a safe signal.

"Sir, the commander of the third platoon of the Shanghai Port Artillery has come to report, please give me instructions!" A young chieftain veteran with a strong accent in Mandarin quickly ran over and stood at attention to salute. Although he tried his best to follow the requirements of the drill,

But his trembling arms and body made his movements go out of shape, and he even made mistakes in his report, not including his name.

As soon as Sun Chuanting climbed up the slope with breath, he was stunned by the opponent's actions. It took him a long time to realize that he had certain leadership authority over the garrison at the port, and the battalion commander garrisoned here also had to obey him.

orders, not to mention the platoon commander of an artillery position below.

"Give me your telescope." Sun Chuanting said urgently in Mandarin. He was training in the Imperial College. Mandarin was also one of the subjects, and it was very important. If you don't learn it, you won't miss out. But like this platoon leader who was born as a chieftain,

His Mandarin was not standard, and he had a strong northern Shaanxi accent, which stunned the young man who had just become the acting platoon leader.

The main body of the city defense armies in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces is the chieftain wolf clan brought out by Qin Liangyu from Sichuan. Being able to become the acting platoon leader in the second year shows that this young man is very diligent in learning and flexible.

I didn't quite understand the other party's Mandarin, but when I thought about the foreign ships I just observed, I roughly understood the other party's intention.

"yes!"

He responded loudly, then slowly raised his hand, ready to take off the wooden binoculars hanging around his neck, but the other party thought he was too slow and snatched it away before he could hand it over. Sun Chuanting's action

, but the young platoon leader breathed a sigh of relief, which proved that his guess was correct.

Sun Chuanting, who took the telescope, naturally didn't expect that the other party would have so many thoughts in a short period of time. After taking it, he hurried forward, leaned on the guardrail, and looked through the telescope.

Immediately, a magical effect occurred, and the distant scene was suddenly brought closer, and the ship was extremely clear. The style of the ship was completely different from the Fu Ship he had seen, and it seemed to be similar to the legendary naval fleet under construction in Tianjin.

It seems that Sun Chuanting carefully recalled the shipbuilding scene he saw when he glanced back at Tianjin Port, trying to compare it with the ships in front of him.

"It does look a bit similar. It seems to be a barbarian ship." Sun Chuanting tried hard to recall the information. There are rumors in the world that His Majesty captured a Western ship in the early years, and then studied it in depth and obtained the other party's technology, and then

The construction of this kind of Western-style ships began on a large scale.

Suddenly, several figures flashed past, and Sun Chuanting quickly followed them and looked carefully. Suddenly, having seen the missionaries several times, he could tell that they were indeed Westerners, with hair of different colors and pale skin.

Seeing the two Westerners dancing on the bow of the boat, Sun Chuanting's heart suddenly turned cold.

"We need to give them a warning, otherwise it will be difficult to carry out the following work." Slowly putting down the telescope in his hand, Sun Chuanting thought quietly for three or four seconds. After thinking about the port's guidance procedures for foreign ships, his face changed.

Shen made a decision.

"Platoon leader, platoon leader!" Sun Chuanting greeted loudly, and at this time, Lu Xiangsheng and his subordinates also ran over quickly, curiously watching the opponent's next movements. Lu Xiangsheng has practiced martial arts all year round, and his physical strength is naturally not comparable to that of his subordinates.

When we reached the top of the position, the group of people were still working hard on the stairs below.

"What's your order, sir?" the young platoon leader ran over.

"I remember that you have been trained, do you know how to guide the ships coming from outside the clock?" Sun Chuanting asked. Although he was sure in his heart, it was better to ask.

"Yes, sir, when we find such a ship, we will first send a signal to the other party, asking them to slow down and stop the ship for inspection, and then the port will send a ship to guide it." The young platoon leader said the method of disposal without hesitation.

It looks a little dull in the proficiency, as if it was memorized.

"What about this ship? Can you tell whether it is a Ming ship?" Seeing the other party's skillful appearance, Sun Chuanting suddenly became interested and continued to ask.

"Yes, it's easy to identify. There is no national flag on the other side's mast, but a strange flag. It is obviously not a Ming Dynasty ship." The platoon leader replied matter-of-factly, with some murmurs in his heart. Didn't the Han commander know?

Are these?

"National flag?" Sun Chuanting was a little confused when he heard this word. It seemed to be a very familiar word, but he just couldn't remember what it represented.

"It's the sun and moon flag, with a sun and a moon painted on it. Look, sir, we have it here." After answering curiously, the platoon leader pointed to the flag hanging on the iron pillar at the top of the watchtower.

.

"It turned out to be this." Sun Chuanting slapped his head and remembered in vain.

"Haha, I forgot for a moment, I forgot for a moment." He smiled awkwardly, and then said, "About when did you send out the signal to ask the other party to stop the ship for inspection?"

"After the other party enters the range of the coastal defense artillery, that is five kilometers." The young platoon leader was a little dazed. He didn't understand why the other party was laughing. Did he understand what the national flag was? I also understand, why didn't I think about it?

What does it feel like to laugh?

"Oh, then it's five kilometers now." Sun Chuanting asked next. With the mistake of the national flag in front of him, he didn't quite believe what he had written down and wanted to confirm it.

This time the platoon leader did not answer immediately. Instead, he squinted his eyes and stared at the ship carefully. His hands were still making gestures in front of his eyes. After doing this for a while, he answered, "We are now five kilometers away. I will let you go now."

The watchtower sends a semaphore."

"Are you the only place that sends out flag messages?" Sun Chuanting asked.

"No, there are four other positions." The platoon leader replied, his legs shook, but in the end he did not move. The commander was in front of him, and all actions were subject to command.

"Then other positions should have discovered it now and sent out flags, right?" Sun Chuanting was asking. He was curious about the baby's appearance, which made Lu Xiangsheng, who was watching next to him, straighten his eyes. What did he say to Brother Sun, who was known for his erudition and both civil and military skills?

Now that I have so many questions, I still want to ask a big-time soldier for advice.

Well, the platoon leader is not a top soldier, but he is not even a second lieutenant. In the eyes of Lu Xiangsheng, who was equivalent to a major from the sixth grade, he is just a top soldier.

"Not necessarily." This time, the platoon leader gave an unexpected answer.

"Not necessarily?" Sun Chuanting repeated.

"Yes." The platoon leader also felt the same as Lu Xiangsheng. He looked up at the other party strangely and understood why this commander had so many questions. However, he still explained patiently, "The coastline is unevenly distributed. There are five forts.
To be continued...