Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1323 He Jian ([-])

After all, the East Coast cavalry are not professional cowboys. They can kill cattle, but it is very difficult to "capture" this large herd of bison intact.Although there are some Gauchos, Mongols or Shandans who have herding experience in the team, they have never let go of tens of thousands of cows. , driving clumsily downstream, intending to bring it to the east bank control area.

Of course, they didn't forget to send someone to notify Xuanwu Fort quickly, asking them to immediately find a way to recruit reinforcements. They must drive the tens of thousands of bison to the vicinity of Xuanwu Fort downstream, and then find a way to slowly clean them up.In the pastures in La Plata surrounded by barbed wire imported from the east coast, aren’t there many cattle that were slowly domesticated from bison?The people of La Plata have always been looked down upon by people on the east coast. Why can't we do it?Therefore, no matter how difficult it is to drive the cattle to Xuanwu Fort!

Fortunately, everyone behind has gradually grasped the trick.These cows are not very tempered, as long as you don't push them too much, they won't run around—there is no place to run around. How can there be Ludang River in other places at this time of year, where the water and grass are abundant—this makes the east bank cavalry They can be adorned from a distance, which is actually enough.How can a cow be as cunning as a human?As long as the trail of this herd of cattle is not lost, then this herd of cattle cannot be lost!

Moreover, the cavalry on the east bank who drove the herd of cattle far away toward the established route were also very happy. They were divided into several squads. Some old or young cows that fell down and were injured due to lack of energy (cattle were injured in the chaos when the herd was driven by the people on the east coast) were slaughtered, or roasted, or boiled, which was better than the so-called bullshit military rations in the bag It's much more delicious, don't live too comfortably in this little life!

The reinforcements sent by Xuanwubao arrived soon, including hundreds of recruited gaucho herdsmen. These people rode fast horses, and without saying a word, they joined the ranks of the cavalry on the east bank to drive cattle, and finally, with their help, they , a total of 10398 cattle (accounted after a few months) were slowly driven to a place with rich water and grass between Luyang Island and Xuanwubao.The people on the east bank planned to build some temporary fences here to separate the large herd of cattle so that they would not get together.In addition, they also urgently sent people to Tonghaian County, Yancheng County and even the local area to call for feed such as alfalfa and professional livestock personnel, intending to process and transfer the cattle as soon as possible.

……

On October 1662, 10, news that tens of thousands of cattle were captured in the Southern Cone area quickly spread to the National Development Administration, the Ministry of Immigration, the Ministry of Agriculture and other government agencies. Therefore, under their looting, this batch of Andalus Western Asia black cattle were quickly booked out.The cattle are still in the Ludang River, and the counties and townships on the local side are divided, but there are not many cows left, so that the newly established townships in Daxing County don’t have a few cows at all—the above People are plausible, you are here to eat relief food newly established settlements, what is the use of cattle?Besides, these cattle are wild cattle, which must be raised in captivity for a period of time, so it is better to give priority to the old areas.

Such a statement naturally provoked a burst of resentment from the crowd, but there was nothing they could do about it. Who made them all eat relief food now? The waist itself couldn't be hardened, so in the end they had to give up and let it go.

By the way, in order to speed up the development of wild areas along the river in China, and support the construction of the Hejian area in a disguised form, this month (October 1662), the first batch of more than 10 immigrants from Huai'an Prefecture arrived in Daxing County by train. The non-stop bracket brought Xiao to several newly established settlements in the north, namely: Qingchi Township (located near the town of Palma in the later Artigas Province), Anling Township (located in the small town of Thomas Gomensoro) Nearby), Yanci Township (near the small town of Baltasar Bloom), Ander Township (near the small village of Javier Debiana), Shanghe Township (near the small village of Campamento, the Cuaro River Also renamed Shanghe) and Yichang Town (located near the later Artigas City), a total of six new settlements, no more, no less, just enough to transfer the immigrants under this year's quota (less than 1 people) After the resettlement is completed, it will also be the basic disk of a county (Yichang County) in the future.

It is worth mentioning that these immigrants got on the train at the Meilin County Railway Station, and then arrived at the Daxing County Railway Station via the Xiamei Railway and the Northwest Railway.It can also be known from this that the more than 100 kilometers of the Xiamei Railway has finally been completed in the county after several years. From this, the Qingmei Railway, the Xiamei Railway, the Northwest Railway, and the Southwest Railway have formed a complete system. The railway transportation network is no longer an independent section railway.

Moreover, after this railway network is completed, it can also form a railway-water transport system through the Yihe Canal, Milin Lake-Duck Lake water system, La Plata River, and Wujiang River, forming a large pattern of national transportation. Circulation has been greatly accelerated, and the rhythm of the entire society has also been slightly accelerated with the improvement of transportation facilities, which undoubtedly means that the economy is active.

At present, the construction teams under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Communications that have completed the railway have begun to move to the Yinan Railway, the Daxing Railway Branch Line, and the Southwest Railway Branch Line, intending to complete some long-overdue projects.In addition, the double track of the Southern Cone-Ocean Railway is also being built intermittently. The local side has also accepted the request of the Southern Railway Company, and will send a medium-sized construction team to carry equipment to the Southern Cone area next month. , to repair the double line of the strategic railway that is related to the two oceans - people on the east coast have lost some merchant ships in the Strait of Magellan and Cape Horn almost every year these years (including a sail escort gunboat), if the railway double line If it can be repaired in time, then those ships full of grain, building materials, ore, timber, livestock, fuel and other bulk cargo will no longer have to take the risk of crossing the Strait of Magellan and Cape Horn.

Li Qun and Master Zhu Heng arrived in Daxing County by train, then rented a few large carriages, and headed north to the future Yichang County, planning to inspect the local investment situation.A while ago, they heard reports from some younger generations who returned from the Hejian area, and found some more valuable black marble mines there, which made the two of them more interested, because there are more and more rich people in the country now, The demand for improving one's own residence is also becoming stronger and stronger, which undoubtedly gave birth to the development of the domestic building materials industry in a further direction-East Coast Building Materials Company can only provide the most basic bricks, lime, cement and sand and gravel, at most There are also some cinders and a little asphalt (by-products of the coking plant), and the two state-owned timber processing factories can only provide some basic cheap timber. High-grade timber has only been supplied in recent years, and the quantity is not large.

Therefore, now some private capital is also beginning to enter this industry, such as the two small quarries and a small earthen kiln that Ximen Xiao previously sold to others in Luocha County (which can only be opened seasonally because of the lack of labor). The same is true for Li Qun and Zhu Heng who came to Yichang County to mine black marble mines.

"Although the establishment of Yichang County is inevitable, the current infrastructure is really poor. It will take a long time to transfer food and grass from the outside world." Zhu Heng looked at the outskirts of Xintang Port, which was full of weeds, with a complexion. He said with some hesitation: "There are only less than 2000 people in Xintang Port right now, and the grain harvested in the fields is not even self-sufficient. Most of the slack seasons don't have time to work in the mines. Isn't it a dead end for us to invest here? Not right. ,inappropriate!"

"My old uncle, if you don't come now, this black marble mine will be picked up by others. Minghe County and Taoyuan County also discovered this kind of mine back then, but they were later snatched away by others. We were one step too late. What is the result? Now those mine owners can only start working for a few months a year, and they can make a lot of money just by supplying the markets of the three counties directly under the Central Government (namely Dongfang County, Luocha County and Qingdao County). Others." Li Qun curled his lips at the side when he heard the words, and said helplessly: "The current world is that the hands are fast and the hands are slow. If you take a step slower, the mine will be robbed by others. The construction materials company has a big business. Those who go to such small mines also think that they can’t earn much money, and they prefer to put their manpower into the wheel kiln factory. But we are different, a marble mine is enough to make us eat so much oil, so what are you waiting for? Woolen cloth?"

Both Li Qun and Zhu Heng are outstanding among the so-called Qingzhou businessmen. In addition to running some industries in the local area, they also partnered with others to manage plantations in the overseas Xinhua Island.Thanks to the boost from the domestic market, the sales of the sisal hemp they have been operating these years have been very good, and the accumulated dividends every year are also quite good. However, there are unforeseen circumstances. Last year, Master Zhu’s eldest son had a serious illness in Xinhua Island and almost died. This made him a little afraid of such a harsh environment.While urgently recalling his eldest son, he is also considering transferring some of the plantation shares to other people, so that he can simply become a hands-off shopkeeper who only cares about dividends in the future.

However, the money obtained from the sale of some overseas properties cannot be left idle.Like the foolish thing of casting all the silver you got into winter melons and hiding them in the cellar in Daming, Mr. Zhu Heng Zhu, who has been running a business on the east bank for many years, is determined not to do it again. The money still has to be invested in the industry If you go up, you have to use it to buy bonds, which is better than eating ashes at home.

The marble mine here in Yichang is the industry that Zhu Heng and Liqun plan to invest in. After all, the building materials industry has been relatively popular in the East Coast these years, and with the increase in newborn population and continuous immigration, construction The material market will be booming for a long time—many people say that it can even last for 100 years—so Li Qun and Zhu Heng plan to enter this industry to test the waters and see how it looks.

It's just that the labor required to open a marble mine is not a small amount.Don’t you see how many non-national laborers are employed in the brick kiln of Dong’an Building Materials Company, and this is the number after the invention of the combined brick making machine, and there were even more before!The same is true of brick and tile wheel kilns, lime kilns, cement kilns, sand yards, gravel yards, and cement prefabrication yards.Otherwise, why do you think the grand plan of "opening a brick and tile kiln in every county" promised by the building materials company back then could not be carried out?It's not that no one is making trouble!To put it bluntly, the development of the east coast is too advanced, and the infrastructure construction is too crazy. The members of the executive committee of the "great success" used unrealistic standards to set the current productivity level of the east coast, which made the entire east coast over the years It has always been like a big construction site, and of course the pain that the resulting inflation has brought to the national economy.

Accompanied by some hired workers, Zhu Heng and others went to the place where the marble mine was discovered and walked around carefully. They felt that the initial investment of about 1 yuan (including the money for renting land and mines) was needed to eat several nearby mines.It is not impossible for them to search and adjust their asset allocation to raise so much money (after all, they have an entire chamber of commerce system behind them, and the key is that they can borrow funds from each other), but why bother?The United Industrial Credit Bank has always been appreciative and supportive of businessmen who invest in industries. The loan interest they offer is extremely low, and it is almost useless to lend you money for industrial investment. Bonds, money order discounts, Jining merchants who buy and sell stocks and road goods, the country has always held a repressive attitude, and even some businessmen who went too far were exiled to Australia under the law, which can be seen, but these are for later. It has nothing to do with the businessmen of the Qingzhou Gang who have always liked to run businesses.

Li Qun, Zhu Heng and others who came back from the survey stayed in a small hotel in Xintang Port that night. This hotel is as "new" as the town, which can be seen from the smell of wood on the walls.At dinner time, everyone went to the hotel lobby to eat together. This time is also the best time for hotel business. Businessmen, mules and horse teams, boatmen who come and go to the Hejian area, construction team technicians who come to Yichang for planning and construction, geology and transportation The officials of the department, as well as the officials who will serve as the cadre team of the future Yichang County—mostly graduated from the Dayuhe Cadre Training School, the Youth Cadre School, and the Bingtuanbao—all gather here, chatting while eating, and sometimes even Discussing work seems to be very lively.

The main course for dinner is the classic East Coast food, beef stew with potatoes, braised Dorado fish and cold cut lamb. Zhu Heng saw that the desserts in the store were very cheap, so he ordered a lot of desserts for everyone to try. Thanks to the human war, the stock of sucrose in the domestic market on the east coast is extremely rich, and the price has fallen across the board. Some merchants who have hoarded a lot of sucrose in advance are miserable, and they all admit it. , Who told them to rob too much wheat, sugar, tobacco and wine from Brazil?Even those gangsters have lowered the prices of domestic dried fruits, cured meat, jerky and other commodities a lot, not to mention the middle and high-end wood, the price is almost the same as an avalanche. If Huaxia Island and Peru ordered a large amount of high-grade wood, and did not buy road goods (of course, they may not be able to buy them, everyone is not a fool), if hedging and amortizing the cost, then bankruptcy is almost a high probability event!

"The future prospects of Xintang Port are limitless. The branch line of the Northwest Railway will come here from Fu'an Township, and the river wharf will also go directly to both sides of the upper reaches of the Wujiang River. Maybe this place will become a distribution center for special products in the northern mountains. The business is a big one." There is a leader. I heard that Sun Chunyang Nanhuo Shop plans to build a piece of land here and open a branch. I think it is reliable. I am afraid that the status here will be better than that of Yichang Town, although that is where the county government is located. At the next table, the technicians of the Sixth Bureau of Construction drank some spirits brewed from sugar residues snatched from Brazil, and their mouths were already yelling.

"I heard that tobacco was grown in Hejian area a few years ago, and it has been shipped to Xintang Port for sale in the past two years. I must have cried this year? Haha, I bought a few catties of 'Patriotic' in Daxing County yesterday. Tobacco is very cheap, all Brazilian goods shipped from Changshun and Hue ports, the price is cheap and the quantity is plentiful, and it can support the military to raise war money to beat up the Brazilians, happy!" The words of this person aroused the excitement of the same table There was a burst of laughter, and everyone said that they bought a lot of discounted spoils such as "Patriotic Dried Fruit", "Patriotic Cane Sugar", "Patriotic Leather", "Patriotic Wood", and "Patriotic Wheat". They strongly supported the country's external expansion, and everyone's spirits rose up at the same time—this country can continue to bring benefits to everyone, and it is indeed much better than Ming and Qing.

Master Zhu Heng and Master Zhu listened to the technicians talking nonsense in silence, and he was unconsciously optimistic about the future prospects of Xintang Port and even Yichang County.In this way, this marble mine can be done. If it is really not good, it is okay to ask Goshkin, Mendez, Valentino and others to recruit some laborers from the old continent!Well, I think that when I was in Qingzhou, my clan brother's mansion couldn't afford much marble. In the future, after the mine is produced, the first batch of stones must be used first. The house in Luoqia County should be renovated and used marble. The material is very good.

On October 1662, 10, when Zhu Heng, Li Qun and others left Xintang Port in a rented carriage, they heard that the Executive Committee planned to build more settlements on the right bank of the Wujiang River in the upper reaches of Yichang County in the future. Basically, they were established on the opposite side of several settlements in the Hejian area, namely Zhangwu Township (located near the later city of Alegretti), Fushi Township (located near the later town of Bea Union), Yichuan Township ( Located near the small town of Uluguayana in the later generations), Zhai Dao Township (located near the city of Kuarai in the later generations, Zhangwu County and Yichang County will also be bounded by the Kuarai River in the future, by the way, the Kuarai River will also be was renamed as Fushi River), together with Sunjiadian Township, a total of five townships, it is expected to receive more than 27 immigrants from Huai'an Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty. The plan to take care of the residents of the cross-border reclamation settlements in the Hejian area, of course, partly uses local output (such as food and wood) to speed up the construction of these new settlements. In short, the settlements on both sides of the Wujiang River will basically be mutual The rhythm of helping and exchanging needs.

And this undoubtedly strengthened Zhu Heng and Li Qun's determination to invest in this area. Without him, the building materials market is hot!

(End of this chapter)