Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 125 Ezo (Continued)
The immigration fleet stayed at the location of Kushiro Port for three days. During this period, hundreds of young and strong men came ashore one after another. In the woods not far from the shore, they cut down hundreds of large trees, cleared an open space of about 50 meters square, and built four rows of wooden houses and a simple fence. A rough camp rose up on this uninhabited and wild coast.

After another round of selection, the fleet left 45 young and strong men to settle in this stronghold named Linhai Fort.

They will continue to build and develop this base in the next year in order to provide the necessary water supply requirements for trans-Pacific voyages as soon as possible.

"I hope they are doing well and...safe on the island!"

In the early morning of July 7, three immigration ships weighed anchor and sailed away from the coast one after another. Looking at the more than 29 people who stayed on the shore waving their arms and bidding farewell to everyone, everyone paid the highest respect for their courage and dedication.

Although the fleet left them enough supplies for a year, they did not know how many dangers lay in this deserted and unfamiliar area, and what hardships they would face.

There may be ferocious beasts, savage savages, or even terrible diseases.

Looking at the gradually receding coastline, Wei Yingbin let out a long sigh.

Returning to the American continent via the North Pacific, there were almost no islands to stop at along the way, which made the entire journey extremely difficult.

The violent waves, unpredictable weather, rotten food, and smelly drinking water will cause every crew member and immigrant to feel extremely painful and difficult.

The months-long voyage, illness, death, depression, fear, and endless hardships always hung over everyone's mind, making people feel an indescribable depression and decadence.

Of course, the fleet can also try to go through the higher-latitude Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Bering Sea, and stop at several coasts and islands along the way, such as the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands.

However, the above-mentioned high-latitude waters have frequent storms, extremely cold climate, and a lot of floating ice on the sea surface, making it one of the most difficult sea areas for navigation in the world.

If you are not careful, you will be swept to the bottom of the sea by the huge storm and buried in the belly of fish.

To make matters worse, in September, ice forms in high-latitude waters. If you sail there rashly, you are likely to encounter large sheets of floating ice, creating a 17th-century Titanic experience.

In this situation, if we can rest for a few days in Hokkaido before crossing the Pacific Ocean, it will definitely be of great benefit for the next and most difficult part of the voyage.

During this period, Hokkaido was considered an unowned land, and the Matsumae clan of Japan only established an administrative agency in the southernmost Hakodate area and had not yet expanded its influence into the inland hinterland.

Rinkai Fort is located at the southeastern end of Hokkaido, at the confluence of two rivers (the Kushiro River and the Akan River). It has a flat terrain, a cool climate, and broad space for development. After development and construction, it will inevitably become the most critical node on the trans-Pacific route.

What's more difficult is that the surrounding area is rich in fishery resources, with large quantities of cod, saury, squid and other fish. In later generations, it became Japan's largest fishing production area.

This means that the supply base will not have to worry about food shortages for a considerable period of time. If more grains and vegetables are planted in the future, sufficient drinking water supplies can be provided for ships traveling back and forth.

A simple fortress and forty-seven pioneers will be the first step for the time travelers to colonize the world.
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On August 8, shortly after the three immigrant ships from Qiming Island left Hokkaido, two "Chinese ships" from Manila also arrived in the area, preparing to enter the North Pacific warm current and head to the American continent.

However, the two Manila galleons did not stay here for a moment. After catching a weak westerly wind, they immediately changed direction, sailed into the Kuroshio Current belt, and sped eastward at a rapid speed.

"We should establish a supply base on that desolate land so that we can have a short rest and replenish our supplies as we cross the Pacific Ocean."

Captain Aaron Neguez Escrapes of the San Cristóbal put away his telescope and turned to his first mate, saying, "We can even use this base to launch an attack on the Japanese and teach them a lesson for their arrogance and ignorance."

"Captain, I'm afraid the Governor-General in Manila won't spend the vast sums of money to establish a colony on this desolate land," First Mate Lucas Dani Vásquez shook his head. "Their own financial resources are severely limited, and they're already struggling to deal with the Philippines' many hostile indigenous tribes."

"Besides, they also captured northern Formosa last year to contain the aggressive Dutch. Therefore, I believe Manila will definitely not waste precious manpower and resources to come to this barren land to establish a supply base for our passing ships."

"Yes, the colonial authorities in Manila have so much to support, and they're severely short on both manpower and financial resources," Captain Escrapes said regretfully. "However, establishing a supply point on this land will be extremely beneficial for our voyages across the Pacific." "The journey from Acapulco to Manila is smooth sailing, and the voyage takes only three months. We also have an excellent midway supply point in San Fernando (present-day Guam), providing a place for our weary sailors to rest and recuperate."

"But returning to Acapulco from Manila required a long detour, a journey that took more than six months, and there weren't any islands along the way where we could stop and resupply. Without rain to replenish fresh water, everyone had to drink stinking water and eat moldy food. It was a truly unbearable purgatory for all of us."

"Captain, we have been sailing this route for more than 60 years..." First Mate Vasquez looked at him with some confusion.

So many of our predecessors in navigation never established a supply base there, so why did you think of this at this moment?
"But I feel that our voyage in the Pacific Ocean is no longer safe."

"..." Upon hearing this, First Mate Vasquez immediately looked at him with sympathy.

Two years ago, the captain had encountered a terrible pirate attack. More than 20 sailors, including the captain, were killed, and more than 500,000 silver pesos and some gold and copper on board were looted.

He was the first mate on the ship at the time, and after surviving, he had always been extremely cautious (timid) and careful (cowardly).

While sailing, they often look around nervously with binoculars in hand, and the requirements for the lookout on the mast are extremely strict. If they find any strange target, no matter when, even if he is sleeping, he must be woken up immediately.

He often said that the pirates possessed a magical power that allowed them to easily find their targets on the sea and then launch fierce attacks.

Moreover, the pirate ship was extremely fast, capable of running at an astonishing speed of over ten knots. Once discovered by them, there would be no way to escape.

He seemed to be frightened by the pirate attack, and what he said was very illogical.

The ocean is so vast, how can pirates easily find their prey?
As for the pirate ship's ability to run at an astonishing speed of ten knots, First Mate Vasquez also expressed deep doubts.

As far as he knew, there was no ship in the world that could easily reach a speed of ten knots, unless it sailed into the "Roaring Westerlies", where it might be able to reach an extremely high speed under the propulsion of extremely strong winds.

However, if you enter the "Roaring Westerlies", there is a very high probability that you will be swept to the bottom of the sea by the storm, and both the people and the boat will be destroyed, and eventually you will be eaten by fish.

He did not think the appearance of pirates in the Pacific was too dangerous. The probability of encountering them at sea was extremely low, and it was even less dangerous than encountering a storm.

Last year, the Viceroyalty of New Spain established a small Pacific fleet. In addition to patrolling the Pacific coast from time to time and protecting passing merchant ships, it also sailed north along the coastline to look for possible pirate hideouts.

Although these measures will not necessarily eliminate pirate attacks, they will certainly curb the frequency of their raids and reduce the maritime threat they pose to us Spaniards.

If we are lucky enough, we might be able to find their lair within two or three years, and then catch all these pirates in one fell swoop, thus restoring peace to the Pacific.

As for establishing a colonial outpost on this wild continent to provide necessary water supplies for the "Chinese ships" traveling across the Pacific, it was certainly not within the consideration of the colonial government.

Because, in the short term, this colonial outpost will definitely not bring any benefits. Instead, it will require continuous investment and subsidies from the Manila colonial authorities, which is a waste of money.

And all this was just to provide convenience for a few ships traveling back and forth for trade.

Yeah, overthinking.

Since it is colonization, the criterion should be whether it can generate benefits.

In this world, which country or colonial company would blindly engage in exploration and construction for non-economic purposes?
(End of this chapter)