Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1302 The Leisurely Wartime Years ([-])

"This place used to be full of noisy diners." Sitting in a rural restaurant in Huoju Township, Qiang Xiaoman signaled his followers to hand him a Madeira liqueur for himself, Xu Zhongwu and Chen Jiaer Everyone poured half a glass—in this kind of rural place, only self-brewed local shochu appeared on the shelves of grocery stores, and there were no relatively high-end wines such as Xiangxiang wine, Madeira liqueur, and Hezhong Daqu. Alcohol, this seems to show that the villagers on the east coast are relatively simple and practical. Although there is a desire to spend money, it is by no means unrestrained.

The staple food on the table is lamb dumplings.Thanks to Tianzun, the war did not take away its usual taste, and everyone ate very happily after the miso was smeared.At this time, Xu Zhongwu, who had already eaten two large plates, burped quietly, and then said, "Yes, Mr. Qiang, it used to be very lively here. At that time, there were a large number of dredgers dredging the river, and there were many non-national buildings. The workers are excavating the river, and the superiors have been asking to cut and straighten the big turning channel here, so a lot of people have gathered here to work, and many people will come here for a drink and a sit in their spare time. The business is very good, and It's completely different now."

"But after the war broke out, most of them were transferred to Dingjun Mountain to build the northern railway. There are only a few dredgers left here, clearing the waterway one by one. And the impact of the war on this place is far more than Therefore, a large amount of supplies are used on the front line first, such as wine, salted fish, medicine and so on. But generally speaking, we are relatively leisurely during the war. The residents of Torch Township have food to eat, houses to live in, With wine and no need to go to the front line to work hard, this life is quite good, how can we ask for more?" said Chen Jia, who was sitting next to Xu Zhongwu, the son of Chen Tingmei, the director of the Ministry of Education, and Xu Zhongwu We have cooperated for many years and trust each other.

"Well, that's the reason. When I came over from Qingdao, I was still singing and dancing." Qiang Xiaoman put down the wine glass in his hand, then looked at the two of them and said, "You two want to buy more tea gardens in the north. I have no opinion, and I am also optimistic about your business, but business is business! You were introduced by Dongzi, and he is my brother, so I can’t bully you. The annual interest rate is 10% and the price is the same. You agreed with me How about releasing the money immediately and making the next arrangement at the same time?"

The two who had been mentally prepared for a long time nodded immediately when they heard the words. After all, the next operation mainly fell on the precious son of Chairman Qiang.In fact, the amount they borrowed from Qiang Xiaoman is not large, only a mere 6000 yuan, but it is essential, because they still need to go through Qiang Xiaoman's proposal to issue it publicly in the West Lake bond market A ten-year bond of 2 yuan (annual interest rate 5.5%), and the previous loan of 6000 yuan is a pre-condition for the subsequent public issuance of bonds, otherwise you don’t know when you will have to wait in line to issue bonds. That way the business might be taken by someone else.

"This has been agreed a long time ago, and we have no objection." Xu Zhongwu and Chen Jia said immediately after hearing the words, "Please Mr. Qiang help as soon as possible, this money is very important to us. The domestic market is highly competitive, and business opportunities are fleeting. die."

"Okay, you guys will give me the account of the United Industrial Credit Bank later, and I will arrange for someone to remit the money, don't worry. I have been in the loan business for so many years, among other things, the quickest loan is the biggest advantage." Qiang Xiaoman picked up The wine glass sniffed lightly and said.

After talking about the business, the few people put down a big stone in their hearts, and then chatted about other things. For example, the executive committee has planned to build a branch line in the Daxing County section of the Northwest Railway, which extends northward from Fu'an Township Railway Station to Xin Xintang Port (later belem town) was established.Once this railway branch line with a length of about [-] kilometers is completed, it will not be so painful to transport materials and personnel from Daxing County to the north of Hejian. The obstacles caused by the Daxing Waterfall will not be worth mentioning in front of the railway. The powerful "La Plata Star" train will quickly and steadily transport a large amount of materials to Xintang Port, and then transport them to the vast areas on both sides of the Wujiang River through the developing shipping industry there, and accelerate the economy of this area develop.

Businessmen like Xu Zhongwu and Chen Jia, who have gradually shifted their business focus to the northern mountainous area of ​​Hejian, are probably the ones who care most about this railway, and have been looking forward to it for more than a year.Now that I heard the news that the railway was about to start construction, I was quite excited, and I almost ran to the gate of the State Railway Administration to set off firecrackers.

And just when the few people were chatting most happily, a man who looked very tall and strong came over. He had an Iberian face and looked drunk.After seeing a bag of shredded tobacco on everyone's table, he pointed with his finger, and the meaning was self-evident.

Qiang Xiaoman's two attendants stopped in front of the Iberian. They put their right hands on their waists and made a warning gesture of drawing their swords at any time. This made the Iberian sober. He looked at Seeing the two young men standing in front of him, they grinned. It was ridiculous that they wanted to deal with him in the way he was best at.

"Let him come over, he looks like he just wants to smoke, nothing else." Qiang Xiaoman said, throwing a bag of imported Virginia shredded tobacco over the table.

The owner of the store also came over at this time, he was a veteran with firm eyes and a strong will, and he pointed his finger at the chest of the drunken Iberian and warned: "You are about to rot, Alqui Sa, it is not your responsibility that Buenos Aires does not pay the military salary, do you have to blame yourself so much? Now, please don’t harass my guests.”

"I was the one who advocated to come to the New World to try our luck. At that time, we lost the battle under the command of Don Juan. The Frenchman allowed us to leave after an honorable surrender. I told Captain Aratrist that we would be finished sooner or later. Better go to the New World and try your luck, but now we haven't been paid for ten months, and it's my fault. Many of us still have families in the Old World, and they may be starving." Alqueza He seemed to be much more awake than before. He looked at the shop owner who was also of Hispanic origin, and said in a slightly low tone.

"That's Lieutenant Alqueza, a Spanish officer from Fort San Pedro. He is good at stabbing swords, and he has a good relationship with the owner of this small shop. It's a pity that their boss, General Portillo, deducted his military salary—maybe the general I haven’t received a few military salaries, which is a common occurrence—it’s been ten months, if it weren’t for our funding, perhaps their more than 100 mercenaries would have been unable to survive.” Xu Zhongwu, who seems to be quite familiar with Alqueza, got up and lit a pipe for him, and then whispered to Qiang Xiaoman in Chinese: "Didn't you always want to find a Spanish sword master to learn? He is actually a very good candidate , participated in many wars in Italy, the Netherlands, France, and Germany. He almost crawled out of the dead. His swordsmanship is superb, and it is very practical, without any fancy. Find him to learn, you can’t go wrong, And it's probably going to be cheap because he's clearly not doing well financially."

It is said that since the people on the east coast reached an agreement with these Spanish mercenaries, that is, the people on the east coast subsidized them with some fine wine, fish, bread, tobacco, cane sugar and a little silver coins, in exchange for these people turning a blind eye to the cross-border reclamation operations on the east coast, and even helping them After attacking and suppressing the Kelandi and Guarani people living in the river area so that they would not pose a threat to the people on the east coast, the living conditions of these mercenaries finally improved, but overall they still live well It was tough, especially after their unpaid military pay slowly increased from four months to ten months.

The arrears of military pay and the difficulties of life have greatly affected the loyalty of these mercenaries. Their bottom line is getting lower and lower, and they don't even reject serving the people on the east coast. The vassal situation is becoming more and more obvious.If the Spaniards don't rectify it, it is conceivable which side these mercenaries will stand in if the two countries go to war in the future-maybe the funniest scene will be that they will come to Fort San Pedro to supervise the battle General Portillo and Colonel Camara were captured by Captain Aratrist and others, and then sent to the barracks of the East Coasters. None of this is impossible, and the morals of mercenaries have always been the same. thing.

What's even more "scary" is that, perhaps in response to the threat from the people on the east coast, King Philip of Spain is still sending mercenary soldiers from the old continent to try their luck in the new continent, asking them to help defend La Plata. They were assigned to the Hejian area, and many of them had good old acquaintances with Captain Aratrist.But the bad thing is that King Philip usually likes to call up a large number of troops, but he never prepares sufficient supplies and supplies for them. This is the case in the old continent, and the same is true in the new continent, so the treatment of these people can be imagined, so more and more More and more mercenaries are secretly sending loyalty to the east bank, which is predictable - the Spanish kingdom's rule in the river region is now like a sieve, infiltrated by the people of the east bank, it is almost broken .

The Lieutenant Alquesa that Qiang Xiaoman saw at this time was a typical mercenary who was in trouble, with rich experience in war, not very afraid of death, a little unique skill, and working hard for money.After looking at this strong Iberian, Qiang Xiaoman slightly lowered his jaw and said to Xu Zhongwu: "I am really only interested in poetry, dance and swordsmanship. If he is really capable, let him Come to me, I will stay here for a few more days, and I won't leave for the time being."

Lieutenant Alqueza also seemed to understand that there was a very noble person among the few people sitting by the window, so he took the shredded tobacco and staggered away.After he left, Qiang Xiaoman, Xu Zhongwu and others continued to chat about the situation in Hejian——

"Now the Spanish mercenaries over there are very cooperative, and even take the initiative to help us clear the field, drive some Kelandi people away, and provide convenience for our reclamation immigrants. In the past two years, we have not only progressed smoothly in the northern part of Hejian, but also in the northern part of the river. Many new settlements were also established in the south of Hejian, including Dongsheng Township (located near the later town of Chahari), Yifeng Township (located near the later town of Los Conquistadores), Qixin Township (located near the later city of Nueva Escocia), and Yingfeng Township (near the later town of Nueva Escocia). Located near the later city of San Salvador), Baitian Township (located near the later city of Uvahai), Jixing Township (located near the later city of Cologne), etc. These settlements have initially established themselves, and the combined number of residents is also It’s eight or nine thousand, and it’s no longer a power that the Spaniards can easily shake.” Xu Zhongwu said with a smile while drinking delicious Madeira liqueur: “In the past, some people always said that if the Hejian area was bought from the Spaniards, That's good, but who else said this in recent years? No, very few! Because even if we don't buy it, so what? Who can stop us from continuing to immigrate here? No! Anyway, this river area is also ours Dadong’an’s mouth fat, when should I eat it or not? Why rush it! I think it’s very good now, everyone tacitly talks and makes a fortune, and finally becomes a fait accompli. Let’s see what the Spaniards do! In the end, they didn’t hold their noses and sold it to us. As for how much we are willing to spend to buy it, it depends on our own mood.”

Speaking of these happy things, everyone laughed again, and then greeted the owner to serve some more dishes, the most famous of which was the Dorado fish (that is, the golden river tiger) caught from the nearby river.This large fish has a fairly good taste and has gradually become a favorite food for most people in the neighborhood, so many ways have been developed over the years.The one served at this time is the braised Dorado fish from Daxing County. It was improved by a chef from Shandong. It uses a lot of spices and miso. The taste is very delicious, and almost everyone loves it—— If there is a shop nearby that doesn't know how to make dorado fish, then this shop doesn't need to be opened anymore, because there is no business.

After eating, Qiang Xiaoman ordered his entourage to accompany Xu Zhongwu and others to invite Alquisa, while he himself took a boat to visit the Baishuidian area downstream.When he came here a few days ago, he stayed there for a short time, and he couldn't forget the beauty of Baishuidian, which was full of swamps (at this time, the dam had not been built in Baishuidian, and the water surface area was not as large as that of later generations), and he occasionally got a few broken sentences—such as "The sun fell to the west, it ignited the plains, and reflected the flames on the glaciers"; another example: "When August shortens the days, the earth flies through the sky to escape the rigors of winter, and the wind stirs the clouds in the valleys" etc. Wait—this time he plans to revisit the old place, find inspiration for poetry again, and write a complete poem.

After all, poetry, dancing, and swordsmanship are Qiang Xiaoman's favorite things. As for doing business and socializing, they are all for life, not favorites.The weather is so good recently, not too cold, and the war has not affected the relatively leisurely life of the people on both sides of the middle reaches of the Wujiang River. It would be a pity not to take the opportunity to play.

(End of this chapter)