Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1437 Hue ([-])

After reading the newspaper, the breakfast was already cold, Xuan Hao chewed and swallowed the buns in two or three bites, and drank the soy milk on the table in several gulps, then stared at the newspaper at a loss, not knowing what to do.He just subconsciously felt that his boss should understand the seriousness of this matter, and if the higher-ups were to investigate and punish it, then he might have to pack up and go back to the countryside to farm?How can I still be so leisurely and leisurely as I am now, alas, I am so sad!

While he was thinking about it, a sailor-like guy in cloth clothes and a red turban came in, then sat down on the opposite side of Xuan Hao, lit a pipe, and puffed: "Dear Xuan, shopkeeper The quality of the salt sold last week in Li was really bad. Not only was it mixed with a lot of impurities, but the quantity was also insufficient. Many workers expressed their dissatisfaction, especially their wives, and told me that this time it was really too much Yes, they hate this kind of unscrupulous business very much."

"Let them hate it, anyway, they can't make any waves!" Xuan Hao sneered when he heard the words, swept away the decadent trend just now, and once again restored his former cold shopkeeper qualities, only to hear him say: "If you have the ability Let them resort to the law and see if the law will protect them! Of course, if they dare to make trouble in the camp, Max, you and your men should cheer up and suppress them all and deduct wages ! If anyone makes a fuss too much, then send them back to the labor broker and ask them to compensate for the loss, let's see if they dare!"

In fact, when he said this, he was somewhat uneasy, because what he had just read in the "Kommersant" made him feel a little uneasy.However, newspapers have reported many outdated practices or systems in the past, but the government may not always take care of them. Therefore, this time, the "Kommersant" criticized the system of wages in kind or wages in accounts that widely exists in the non-national labor system. The gentlemen may not necessarily pay attention to it, let alone press it down and ask for rectification.After all, these people are non-citizens, and they are not from the East Coast, so why bother advocating for them?In Xuan Hao's view, "Kommersant" is really sick this time. Although he himself has been enslaved by Tartars before, he doesn't mind enslaving these Italians and Irishmen at all.

"Recourse to the law is naturally impossible, because there is still no clear provision to stipulate this matter. They may complain to their agents, which may cause some trouble." Max, who was wearing a turban, frowned and said : "If their brokers fight for their rights, then the efficiency of logging is likely to be reduced, and the timber processing factory will also be underutilized, which means the loss of profits, and the boss will definitely be angry."

"You don't have to worry too much about this. Hehe, complain to the agent? Put it lightly! To whom? Batino or Mendes? No one cares about their living conditions!" Xuan Hao continued with a sneer: "Except Goshkin, a Russian with a deep conscience, when did Batino and Mendes become good people who will protect the interests of their laborers? Except for those laborers who are related to them, they are eager to help us What about suppressing the troublemakers, in order to continue to contract business in the future. In this regard, that guy Goshkin will fight for the rights and interests of his fellow Ross, and prevent them from being exploited and bullied too much, so now the majority of planting Park investors, logging camp contractors, and sand pit owners are less and less fond of recruiting laborers from him unless they have to. Haha, this forced Goshkin to register his own construction company and undertake projects everywhere. The influence has dropped a lot..."

Hearing this Max was also speechless.Yes, if labor brokers thought about their workers in the early days, then now that people like Batino and Mendez have started to use kidnapping, deception and other means to get labor workers, they have already They have already transformed into ruthless triad leaders, and the laborers recruited by them in the early days have also become horsemen and thugs. Therefore, it is wishful thinking to want them to stand up for laborers who have never met before!In this regard, Goshkin, a carpenter from a poor background, is more kind to his subordinates. It is fine to exploit and oppress the general level, but if the trouble is too much, he will stand out, and this seems to be his subordinate. The reason for the strong cohesion can be seen from the record of the three major labor brokers fighting for projects.

"How about this, I will remove the low-quality goods from the store recently, and you will also take your people to keep an eye on the laborers, and don't let them make trouble. This wilderness is far away from the village and the store. There is no food, and there are mosquitoes everywhere outside, these guys don’t dare to run, as long as they don’t make trouble, not to mention that many of them brought their families along with them.” Xuan Hao said after thinking for a while .

Max thought about it after hearing the words, this Xuan Hao and his boss are both smart people, and they usually trust him, and what he said is also reasonable, so this time let him go.Thinking of this, Max decided to go back and stare closely at the group of non-national laborers, and Xuan Hao remembered his boss's instructions before leaving, so he also went to the forest farm and the dock with Max.

There's not much to say about the tree farm, a ragtag group of Old World laborers cutting logs, which are then pulled by a small stream to a downstream wharf for processing.Xuanhao’s owner built a wood drying kiln by the pier—it is worth mentioning that private capital rarely entered this industry before, mainly because of high technical requirements. Now that Xuanhao’s owner has built this kiln, it seems From a certain point of view, it has been confirmed that the reserve of technical power on the east coast for more than 30 years has reached a very high level-in addition, a small wharf has been established to transport processed timber and even giant logs to other places.

Xuan Hao and Max quickly finished their patrol in the logging camp, and then stepped on the muddy ground to the pier.The pier is built with thick and cheap wood, which is very crude, not strong, and will not last long, but the advantage is that it is cheap and can use local materials.At this time, two small boats were unexpectedly moored by the pier, and looking into the distance, I saw a large merchant ship anchored and moored a little far away. The logo of the West India Company-could this be the merchant ship of the other party?

"Mr. Cornelis?" Max called out in surprise.Because from what he saw, the one who was talking and laughing with an East Coast official in a tunic suit on the pier at the moment was obviously one of the directors of the Dutch West India Company, Cornelis from the Bickel family.Needless to say, the richness of this gentleman is undeniable to people from the Old Continent like Max, so even though he is now a citizen of the East Coast Republic of China, he still can't help but feel excited when he sees such people. Want to bow down to it.

"This is the best shipbuilding timber, right?" Cornelis, with the support of two attendants, carefully avoided some puddles and mud puddles on the ground, and then pointed to the wood piled up in the awning (which can also shade the sun at the same time). ) under a pile of cut planks, and asked: "I heard when I was in Amsterdam that tropical hardwoods from the New World are the most suitable for shipbuilding, especially when paired with the hard cutting knives produced in your country. Hardness, flexibility, and corrosion resistance are all top choices, and the Spaniards and Portuguese are very convenient in this regard."

"It's a pity that the stupid Portuguese took back a large amount of hematoxylin as dye. Since the last century, they have successfully reduced more than 100 million hematoxylin in the whole of Brazil in more than 5000 years. I know that these precious trees could have been used to make planks, keels, masts, musical instruments and even high-end furniture, but they turned into inferior dyes for no reason. Director Bai Yutang, who came to the forest farm in Shenmu Township, shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Fortunately, it's all over. After the peace agreement was signed in 1664, we took over the former General District of Rio de Janeiro and General Espiritu Santo. area and General Seguro area, and I am sure that our government and businessmen will treat this precious forest properly and develop it in a sustainable manner to benefit the people. Of course, as people on the east coast My friends, the Dutch West India Company will also be able to share in this wealth of ours, especially in your time of need."

"Thank you so much for the kindness and generosity of our friends on the east coast. We will always remember this." Cornelis Bickel responded politely.As a country severely lacking in timber—in fact, the United Provinces lack almost everything—the United Provinces have insisted on importing large quantities of shipbuilding implements such as hemp, flax, wood tar, pine masts and, most importantly, planks from the Baltic and Russia over the years. , to support the huge shipbuilding industry of the United Provinces.

But it is obvious that in the above-mentioned areas rich in wood, whether it is Norway, Sweden, Finland, or the Russian Empire far away in the White Sea, because of the cold climate, the forests in the territory are mostly taiga forests. , In fact, it is not so suitable for manufacturing—especially for building warships.

But the Dutch had no choice (of course, due to cost considerations). They could only import large quantities of pine masts and ship boards from here, transport them to Amsterdam, and then use these softer woods to build merchant ships and armed merchant ships, sometimes even warships. Much of the wood on it is pine planks.This kind of ship has a relatively short lifespan after being built, but the advantage is that the cost is pitifully low, so it is very popular in the United Provinces. This may be one of the reasons why they have some disadvantages in sea combat. The ship is too scumbag.

There is no doubt that the people on the east coast look down on sea ships made of pine wood, and they are also amazed at the Dutch pine wood ships sailing around the world. What a group of brave sailors they are!Don't the Dutch need maintenance costs?It's incomprehensible!The ships currently built by the East Coasters, even merchant ships, are all built with good tropical hardwoods, at best relatively cheap wood is used in the superstructure (cabins and even furniture inside, etc.) to save costs, Not to mention professional warships, the selection of materials is to keep improving, rather than lacking, you must know that the navy has always been "paranoid" in this regard-the only ships on the east coast currently built in large quantities with Parana pine are probably those small river steamers, Barges and other small vessels too.

This time they competed with the English at sea, and the Dutch finally knew how annoying it was that the warships were filled with loose and soft pine wood.On the other hand, their opponents, the English, are far inferior to their Dutch in terms of financial strength, but the hulls and important parts of their warships are really made of oak. What's more, it is built with other wood, which is much stronger than the Dutch in terms of the strength of the hull.So that's why Cornelis Bickel hastened to the east bank, that the Dutch wanted to procure a good quantity of cut wood from the east bank and ship it back to Amsterdam - which would both It can be used to build ships, and it can also be used to repair damaged ships, which is very critical for the ongoing war.

Speaking of this, I have to say a digression, that is, in the second half of last year, Konrad van Boiningen, the ambassador of the United Provinces to the east coast, signed a series of ship purchase and construction agreements with the east coast on behalf of the three-level parliament.Now more than half a year has passed, and more than 20 new and old ships have arrived at various ports in the United Provinces.Once the weather in the North Sea is clear in May and June, which is conducive to fighting at sea, these ships from the east coast will go into battle if they are not in order, and fight face-to-face with the English navy.

If there is a battle, there will naturally be wear and tear. Therefore, the three-level parliament in The Hague entrusted the Dutch West India Company to send capable officials and ships to the east coast to inspect and purchase high-quality ship materials.You know, under the influence of the people on the east coast, the Dutch are paying more and more attention to the selection of high-quality ship materials instead of making a bunch of cheap pine wood to make up the numbers.

Cornelis Bickle, as the plenipotentiary representative of the West India Company, has been wandering around Bei Ninh and Hue for a long time this time, and even some logging camps in the Portuguese era (mostly located near Port Seguro, which have not yet started construction) , in a state of disuse) also took a closer look, and now Shenmu Township is his last leg of the trip.

Naturally, Xuan Hao and Max didn't know the inside story. They only saw some "big cadres" accompanied the directors of the West India Company to their dock, and then pointed at the dried wood piled there. I thought that I was not satisfied with the quality and quantity of the wood I harvested in this forest farm, so I was a little trembling for a while.

(End of this chapter)