Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1357 South African Monarchs ([-])

On January 1664, 1, Wang Zhijie had just finished his expedition in the dry and hot Orange River Basin, and was urgently called to the Yicheng area, intending to lead a team to explore somewhere in the inland area, so as to determine as soon as possible whether there was any development value.

"There are all Swazi-speaking tribes over there. The place is small and the population is not large. According to two Portuguese businessmen who once went there to do business, the entire Swazi-speaking tribe has only about 10,000+ people, but They live in a relatively concentrated place. If we want to conquer the Swazis, we may not be able to do so without resorting to violence, at least we need to mobilize a mixed battalion and some militias!" A student of Wang Zhijie reported immediately after seeing the teacher Said.

This short, stocky young man had previously led an expedition team of 60 to [-] people into the Swazi settlement. , ivory, somewhere he accidentally found some coal!And the coal was the highest quality anthracite (white coal), which made him extremely excited!

Later, after talking and gestures and giving a lot of benefits (just some glass products and metal utensils), the Swazis who consciously made a lot of money led them to the place where the coal was first picked up, and then Wang Zhijie and others I was shocked!They found a very large (suspected) coal field here, and the coal seam was buried extremely shallow. According to the exploration team hired local people to dig and sample, almost every place that was mined was the best quality anthracite, and its quality was comparable to that of the Navy. Layer rarely bought a boatload of Welsh white coal!

This discovery caused a sensation to more than 50 members of the entire expedition team. Everyone is not an uninformed native. The coal mine reserves are not small, and the coal quality is excellent, with high combustion calorific value and less residue. After the explosion, the current output cannot be effectively increased. Once Tacheng clean coal and Nantie coal (produced in Heishan Coal Mine and Heijin Island) are mined and shipped back to China, the people in the navy and transportation department will be overjoyed!

After carrying a few bags of samples mined from various places, the east coast expedition team hurriedly packed up, bid farewell to the Swazis who were still friendly to them, and traveled long distances again—in fact, it was not too far away. The place where the coal was found was only [-] kilometers away from Yicheng Port. After returning to Yicheng Port, they reported the news to Qiu Haiyang, the commissioner of Yicheng District, and at the same time, the captain of the New China Pioneering Team who was in charge of them. Ma Wanpeng also got a detailed report.

Qiu Haiyang was also very excited when he got the news. As a regional commissioner, he was keenly aware that if he could attract local attention and investment in this matter, then this would be an excellent opportunity for the expansion of power in the Yicheng area. He Qiu had an excellent opportunity to expand his power, so he went to Xinhua Port by boat almost immediately to meet Ma Wanpeng for help.

To be honest, Ma Wanpeng is quite kind, although the Yicheng area is only managed by him (meaning that the Yicheng area will be separated from the jurisdiction of New China after the "wings are hardened"), and he himself is likely to be in the East, After the Portuguese War ended, he was in charge of the Central Executive Committee. Some things could have been left alone, and others could not criticize them.For example, Qiu Haishang, Commissioner of Yicheng District, was in a hurry to push the line of control inland by tens of kilometers—he played a trick here. How far away, hehe——As the captain of the New China Development Team, Ma Wanpeng is responsible for guiding their business. He could have ordered to stop it, or even not to allocate materials and personnel assistance, but for some reason, he finally Still agreed to the request of Commissioner Qiu Haiyang, and agreed to push the actual control line in the Yicheng area inward. For this reason, the New China Development Team will give them a certain amount of money, material and personnel assistance. This makes Qiu Haiyang I am inexplicably grateful, and I keep saying that in the future, I will only follow the lead of "Brother Ma"!

The assistance of the New China Pioneering Team generally includes 3 yuan in cash, a large amount of corn and rice, some livestock, and a total of 2 pardons from various plantations (all of whom performed relatively well in normal times, and scored before the test) ) Slavic slaves, some exiled officers and soldiers of the Ottoman Ganisari Legion and their families.These aids have already begun to arrive at Yicheng Port in batches. Among them, the first batch of officers and soldiers of the Ganisari Regiment have already begun to march towards Huatai Township. They will receive military uniforms and weapons there, and then escort some immigrants on the east bank, carrying Settling down with all necessary household items, marching inland—their first goal is Suanzao Township, located 3-55 days west of Huatai Township (about [-] kilometers, which is a flat grassland road). Near the small town of Namasha in western Mozambique.

After gaining a firm foothold in Suanzao Township, Yicheng District plans to continue westward and establish a settlement near the later Ngomane City, named Guancheng Township.The distance from here to Suanzao Township is about 35 kilometers, and it is far from the location of the coal mine, near the small town of Mulume in later generations (it has been marked as Chenggao Township on the map by the people on the east coast, and the local Swazis must have different opinions ...) about thirty kilometers away.And Huatai Township is only 150 kilometers away from the western suburbs of Yicheng Port (near Matola Port), where a deep-water wharf can be built. In this way, if a railway is built from the coal mine to the sea wharf, The total mileage should not exceed 200 kilometers. Even considering the remoteness of the Yicheng area and the high transportation costs, the total cost of this railway is expected to be unlikely to exceed [-] million yuan in the end. If Lu people and Swazi people are slaves to build roads, the total cost may be further reduced.

The cost is not unbearable, but the central government may not agree, because although the quality of coal produced by Tacheng, Heishui, and Heijindao coal mines is not as good as that of the planned (or imagined...) Chenggao coal mines, it is still not enough for domestic production. It’s okay, it’s not ruled out that the domestic industrial and commercial circles will seek more high-quality coal sources in the future, but they obviously don’t have enough motivation right now, and everything actually depends on the South Africans themselves!

Qiu Haiyang obviously understands this truth. Taking stock of his current strength, Yicheng Port has more than 2600 residents, Sanyuanli Township has more than 900 residents, Lingchang Township has more than 700 residents, and Huatai Township has more than 800 residents. There are only more than 5000 people in total, and the supplies, food and salaries are extremely scarce, and the infrastructure is also poor. There are large tracts of wild land in the wild, and there are even a large number of Tonga and ancestors living between every two settlements. Lu people also have pitifully weak control over the local area.

It can be said responsibly that if Captain Ma of the New China Pioneering Team had not given great "care" to the Yicheng area, they would probably still be hiding in a small fortress along the coast of Yicheng Port, carrying out The arduous reclamation work, while tentatively launching colonization or trade inland, the expansion speed is not as fast as it is now!Therefore, he is actually very grateful for the assistance of New China Island, and once he has a new idea of ​​​​expansion at this time, the first thing he thinks of is still to ask for help from the New China Development Team. An overseas colony with a population of 8 to [-] and a strong economy-it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the first overseas colony of the Eastern China Republic.

After Xinhua "returned with a full load", Qiu Haiyang returned to Yicheng Port full of ambition, and then quickly issued orders to transport a large number of people and materials to Huatai Township through the river that swelled during the flood season. At the end, a large number of immigrants flocked to the west like wild horses running wild, occupying the Suanzao Township area, and then waited for an opportunity to peek at the Guancheng Township area on the west side of the hills. There were violent armed conflicts among the Tonga, but so what?There has never been a free lunch in this world. If you want to obtain the land on which to pass on to future generations, you have to take the head as a guarantee to fight the natives. There is no other way!

On January 1664, 1, the famous explorer, zoologist, and geologist Wang Zhijie finally came to Huatai Township. He was originally exploring the Juzi River in the Hezhong area. With his own consent, he brought a group of entourages to Huatai Township, intending to lead a larger expedition team and cross the old road of Huatai Township-Suanzao Township-Guancheng Township-Chenggao Township. Canadian and Swazi territories for colonial exploration.

The size of the team will be much larger than last time, about 300 people, including [-] Ottoman Ganisari soldiers as guards.With such a scale and such a lineup, I believe that whether it is the Tonga or the Swazi, those who confront directly will suffer heavy casualties. They are not Zulu, they do not have such a military system, and their organization is low. They are not Eastern at all. The opponent of the shore people!However, people on the east coast are not all sticks. Since this is an expedition, why bother with those barbarians?On the contrary, they also carried a large number of gifts and commodities for customs clearance along the way. I believe that the natives will not be too embarrassing for this large expedition team.

Of course, this time the expedition team participated by Wang Zhijie and others went to the Swazi territory with a friendly—at least neutral—attitude. After preparing, I believe that the next time they arrive at their territory, they will no longer be smiling expedition members carrying gifts and commodities, but the east bank army armed with bayonets. The Whistleblowers will be conquered on a large scale, and those who do not follow will be killed, and those who follow will also be subjected to hard labor, laying a solid foundation for the possible construction of the Yicheng Railway in the future. This railway will be related to the development of the Yicheng area in the next few decades. No one will take it lightly.

"A team of 300 people and [-] soldiers are all Ottomans. They have worked as supervisors in New China for many years. They are reliable with their family members as hostages. In addition, there are people from the New China Development Team, the Regional Administration, Yicheng Port Authority, and the Transportation Bureau. , officials of the Bureau of Commerce, and technical personnel in the field of animals, plants, geology and mineral resources. There are also several agents from the National Intelligence Agency. There are a total of about [-] people. In short, the size of the team this time is very large. In order to raise the supplies for so many people to travel far, the regional administrative office almost emptied their entire family. The degree of desire for coal production areas." The student continued to talk to Wang Zhijie, and it could be heard that this young man also had a little yearning for expanding his territory. Of course, at his age, he may not have fully realized this so-called Expansion of territory is often based on numerous corpses, both others' and one's own.

"It's just some people who are very happy." Wang Zhijie slandered in his heart, but didn't say it out.In his opinion, the construction of Yicheng area can be said to be a mess now. It has been almost two years since its establishment, and Yicheng Port, which has the largest population, still needs food relief from Xinhua Island, not to mention the townships of Sanyuanli, Lingchang and Huatai. , The land has not been tidied up, the reservoir has not been dug well, even the number of livestock is pitifully small, the cities, roads, and livelihood facilities are even more messy, and the militia system has not been perfected-such "garbage" strength, With a population of just over 5000 and almost a poor family background, they still insist on expanding to the inland areas. Are those Tonga and Swazi people really a ****?Do you really think they are so easy to talk to?What are you talking about mobilizing troops from the outside world, and transferring the first mixed battalion to help you fight for a year. Can you poor ghosts afford the consumption of others?I'm afraid that if you pawn your pants, you won't be able to support the No. [-] Mixed Battalion, it's just playing the piano!

"There is also the New China Pioneering Team. Now the French are being squeezed out in the southeast. If you don't focus your energy there, why come to the Yicheng area to join in the fun? Even if you ignore the southeast, then Ma Renjia and others The order of the newly occupied land also needs to be maintained, the land also needs to be filled by immigrants, and the construction also requires a huge amount of materials and money. You don’t build yourself but go to the Yicheng area for blood transfusions. What are you doing, Ma Wanpeng? ?” Thinking of this, Wang Zhijie became a little depressed, he felt that the minds of the South African monarchs were a little abnormal, they were all crazy, and they all became a bunch of madmen who did not care about reality!

"Forget it, pack your things, and follow me to the nearby grasslands recently to collect animal and plant specimens." Wang Zhijie planned to talk about his students, and then said.Anyway, there are still more than two months before the end of the rainy season. At this time, I happened to be walking around the nearby areas, and I drew a map by the way for future development as a reference.

"Okay, then I'll talk to Lieutenant Mao." The student nodded and said to Wang Zhijie.Lieutenant Mao Jun is the person in charge of the safety and security of this expedition, and everyone has been following them to help before. Now that the teacher is here, it is natural to go out to investigate. I heard that Lieutenant Mao and others will find time to go out tomorrow to catch To arrest some Tonga people and come back to do infrastructure construction, it is better to inform them as soon as possible, so as not to find them late.

"A few days ago in Yicheng Port, I heard people say that there are troop carriers in the Heishui area to return to the mainland. Considering that Qiu Haiyang has the right to legally intercept some people every year to supplement the strength of the Yicheng area, this guy will not openly intercept a part of Shandong. The officers, soldiers and their families of the first and second divisions of the new army, right? After all, there is a shortage of people here, and especially the lack of such organized, combat-capable, and established immigrants. They should not be too jealous when they see it!" Wang Zhijie suddenly thought of this again, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it was.

These two divisions add up to [-] officers and soldiers, and if the family members are counted, there are tens of thousands.Although they are all local dishes, if the South African monarchs find a way to retain some, it is really not impossible with their courage!When the time comes, just report to the higher-ups who is in poor health or not doing well, and then promise a lot of benefits. Believe it or not, no one will be tempted.And once they gather and organize these people with long-term combat experience, it should be a breeze to march to the inland area and compete for land with the Tonga and Swazi.

"With such a big interest in front of you, what else are the South Africans afraid to do? Sigh, I don't know if those immigration transport ships have left and where they are..." Wang Zhijie thought intently.

(End of this chapter)