Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1674 West Indian Ocean ([-])

The mainland’s order to instruct Yicheng to go south was not sent to Yicheng Port until several months later, and when they made all preparations, mobilized some manpower, and arrived in the area around Richard’s Bay in later generations by boat, it was already 1674 It happened in September of this year.

In this era of doing things, the pace is really too slow!

The landform near Richard Bay is basically dominated by hills, which is actually a typical feature of the eastern coastal areas.This area starts from the Great Cliff in the west, extends to the Indian Ocean in the east, starts from the southern border of Mozambique in the north, and reaches the mouth of the Great Fish River in the south. meters above sea level).

Along Richards Inlet—well, it's called Ngyi Yang Bay now—the land surface is strongly cut, as is most of the eastern seaboard where rivers flow into the Indian Ocean.River valleys, especially the upper and middle valleys, are very deep and narrow.But there is no doubt that these places have a humid climate, more precipitation, and fertile soil. Later generations are called the garden of the Republic of South Africa, which shows their livability and great value in agriculture.

Different from the famous coal export port in later generations, there are still many areas in need of improvement in Yiyang Bay area at this time: the place near the coastline here is sandy shallows, followed by the high and low tide zone, and the sand dune belt extends behind it. Behind the sand dune belt is the edge of Da Ke that rises suddenly, just like the steps of the mainland.

It can be seen from this that in Yiyang Bay at this time, dredgers are still needed to dredge the places near the coastline, otherwise the large ships with deeper drafts can only anchor at a place farther away, and then use small boats to go back and forth. The efficiency of barging materials is indeed low, so it has to be paid attention to.

"Where are the people who arrived earlier? Didn't they all get killed by the Zulus?" As a small boat was quickly washed up on the beach by the tide, Captain Mao Jun, the police commander of Yicheng District, jumped onto the soft sand gently, clasping his hands The pergola looked at some simple wooden houses in the inland area and said jokingly.

"It's summer now, and the east coast of South Africa has abundant rainfall. It's the time when the pasture is tender and juicy. The life of the savages is not so difficult. Generally speaking, people who come to us will not trouble us, but winter may be the case. " Said Lieutenant Tang Moyu, who had just waded ashore from the knee-deep sea.He still carried the famous umbrella on his back, causing many people around to turn and look at it from time to time.

The winter and summer climate of South Africa he just mentioned was obtained from the expedition report of geography and botanist Wang Zhijie.Scholar Wang University clearly described in this report: "In winter (July), the prevailing winds on the east coast of South Africa are westerly and northwest winds, which are dry winds that cannot form precipitation. Therefore, South Africa is basically Drought in winter (except for Cape Town in the southwest, where the southwest wind blows and there is plenty of water vapor), especially in the inland grassland area, this time period is the most difficult time of the year for local residents, grassland and semi The surface of the grassland area is completely dry, like a lifeless gray desert. Of course, the eastern coastal area will be better, but the life of the barbarians will still be very difficult, which increases their impulse to go out to rob and start wars.”

"In summer, the east coast welcomes warm and humid air from the depths of the ocean. The prevailing winds are easterly, northeasterly and southeastly. Therefore, summer is humid and rainy, with a huge amount of precipitation. 70% of the annual rainfall is concentrated in At this time, the water level of the originally dry river will rise again, and the earth will be greatly nourished by the rain. But it should be pointed out that if anyone tries to settle and survive on the east coast for a long time, he'd better build some large-capacity Reservoirs are used to store the huge amount of rainwater in summer, so that it does not seep into the ground or flow into the Indian Ocean. Otherwise, maybe domestic water is not in short supply, but the huge amount of fresh water needed for agricultural and industrial production will not be available.”

"The hills and valleys along the eastern coast develop subtropical red soil and yellow soil. These two soils are very fertile and can grow some subtropical crops, such as cotton, citrus, tobacco, etc. But it should be noted that because most of South Africa The net is in its infancy, and the alluvium is weakly developed—only the mouth of the Orange River has appreciable alluvial soil—so this soil must be used with great care, lest it become exhausted and become useless waste soil. "

The middle-level and above agricultural cadres who came to Yiyang Bay brought a copy of the above descriptions to guide their work in the future, such as land reclamation and so on.

"That's right. In summer, their life is not difficult. People and animals have drinking water and pasture, so they can survive no matter what. But in winter, they have no reservoir and can't dig wells. Life will be more troublesome. They have to move around to survive. Maintain a livable appearance, and this time is often the most aggressive and fierce stage, we must deal with it carefully." Captain Mao Jun said casually as he walked towards the wooden house.

On the beach at this time, there were some reserve soldiers belonging to the Yicheng Security Brigade forming a team.This time they came with a total of more than [-] people. They were all carefully selected experts. They had fought in the Far East for many years, and later worked in the Swazi territory for many years to suppress bandits. The experience is quite rich.With them, supplemented by some solid field fortifications, it should be enough to resist the invasion of some Zulu-speaking and unsightly barbarian tribes.

Lieutenant Tang Moyu is the commander of these people, and he may also stay here for a long time to escort the immigrants, so after ordering a confidant subordinate to lead two platoons to help cut down trees— — On this relatively humid east coast, the distribution of broad-leaved tree species is still quite wide, but the density is far less than that of other places. The tree species are mainly podocarpus, African mangrove, palm tree, Cape beech, black iron tree, and white iron tree , aromatic tree, etc.——he hurried up a few steps to follow Captain Mao Jun, intending to chat with the township chief who had arrived here earlier.

The head of the township, who came from the Dayuhe Youth Cadre School, received Mao Jun and Tang Moyu in a wooden house exuding a scent.Seeing that the visitor was a bit puzzled, the head of the township who had worked in Yicheng Town for several years laughed and introduced: "Someone beat two antelopes this morning, and then I made them peel and stew a pot of rotten meat. Since you are here, Why don't you try it together."

Mao Jun also smiled when he saw this, and immediately asked his subordinates to bring over two bottles of Hezhong Daqu as wine for the meal.And after drinking for three rounds, everyone's atmosphere became heated all of a sudden, and the chatterbox gradually opened up.

"Before you came, a merchant ship of the East African Transportation Company returned to Xinhua Port from the Hezhong area, and left us some sorghum, salted fish, tools, tents, medicines and weapons. It’s time for you to come.” The township chief said while stirring the iron pot with a spoon, “The sailors on that ship were also very talkative, and talked about a lot of things with us. According to them, the new commander of the South African Garrison Lieutenant Colonel Guo Handong has completely occupied the entire Dutch South Africa and planted our national flag on the spire of Fort Good Hope, and now the entire western coast of South Africa is ours."

"It's not just the west coast. The south coast has almost been conquered now, and several new towns have been established, and the population has increased. It can be regarded as a serious country, and counties will definitely be set up in the future." Another person The township cadre, whose face was flushed from drinking, said: "I remember that place was originally owned by the French, right? Yes, it is the colony established by the wave of people who were squeezed out from the Dofanburg colony by us, the French East India Company!"

In fact, strictly speaking, it was not the people from the east coast who drove the French from the southeast of Xinhua Island, because they only provided some weapons and dispatched some military instructors behind the scenes. It was the people who really drove the French into the sea. The ferocious Bala and their servants, the Mahafari, Antondrois, etc., are active on the arid plateau in the south.

After the failure of the French East India Company's colonization efforts on New Huaxia Island, King Louis XIV of France sponsored them, and then eventually withdrew in batches to establish the New Brittany colony on the southern coast of South Africa.Of course, this colony has only been in operation for a short time. As a result, it was attacked by the East Coast army in the last inheritance transfer war and surrendered directly.

After the people on the east coast got New Brittany, they didn't pay much attention at the beginning. They just set up a township government in New Montpellier, where French immigrants gathered, and immigrated more than [-] people (not even local There are many French people), and this place was formally controlled, and New Montpellier was renamed "Light City Port".

But this year (in the first half of 1674), under the pressure of the higher-level government, the Hezhong District Administrative Office, which was in charge of these areas, finally reluctantly invested here, and built several new settlements. Yincheng Township near Francis Bay, Qisi Township near Port Alfred in later generations, and Xinxi Township near Plettenberg Bay in later generations, counting Guangcheng, a total of four towns, can be regarded as the colony of New Brittany. The best coastal areas of the country have been circled, and this is exactly what the cadre mentioned just now.

"That's right, it used to be a colony of the French, but we took it later." Captain Mao Jun put down the antelope bone in his hand, and said with a smile: "Now the Dutch Cape Town colony has also been taken by us, I don't think it will be returned to the Dutch East India Company, so we will almost have all of South Africa, except for the east coast."

"The east coast needs to be taken care of, otherwise foreigners who can't think about it may come to make up their minds. Although we are not afraid, it will be troublesome." "I just don't know how to divide these territories in the future. If the east coast belongs to the Yicheng area If it is in charge, I am afraid that the Hezhong region will not be too concerned and will not make too much effort. They are even reluctant to supply the new settlements in the Guangcheng area." "It will definitely not be under the management of the Hezhong region, so You expect them to use real money to support the construction of brother regions? How is this possible?"

A group of cadres in Yiyang Township had a drink at this meeting, talking about the future prospects of the east coast of South Africa, and many of them seemed to be dissatisfied with the river area on the west coast, thinking that the other party would probably not do their best We will do our best to support the development here.Even if some supplies were sent due to the pressure of the superiors, it must be reluctant, and the quantity and quality are insufficient.

Mao Jun and Tang Moyu automatically filtered some of these people's complaints, and started eating and drinking on their own.However, when they heard some people talk about the South African garrison troops being "more generous", they were implementing the so-called "South African Dig Through Operation" plan, intending to destroy the Kama Kingdom, which had been stalemate for many years, by land, and when they approached the east coast. I suddenly became interested, and asked others.

"Oh, that's Lieutenant Colonel Guo Handong's idea." A cadre who was drinking heavily replied, "It is said that after Lieutenant Colonel Guo stabilized the situation in the Cape Town colony, he ordered the security teams of Hezhong, Tianxiong, and Changqing counties to stay there. Maintain order, and then personally lead the South African Cavalry Battalion, the Eighth Mixed Battalion, and the No.11 Mixed Battalion to form an eastward detachment, intending to continue to implement the "South African Piercing Operation" plan formulated by Major Yang Liang back then, and strive for more sunshine for our country The land under it. Well, this is all the news that has been circulating in Cape Town and the Hezhong area recently, and it is not a secret, because Chief Guo has already been collecting supplies on a large scale, and it is said that he has made Commissioner Jiao in the Hezhong very unhappy."

Hearing this, Mao Jun and Tang Moyu looked at each other and smiled.As military officers who have been hanging out in South Africa for many years, they certainly know what Commissioner Jiao in the river is thinking. Isn't it just the railway that they never forget!After so many years of hard life, and so much money and materials saved by tightening our belts, isn’t it just to build the first railway in South Africa?But what happened?Guo Handong, the head of the group with a profound background and airborne, was not satisfied with the capture of Dutch South Africa. He also planned to continue to wipe out the Karma Kingdom, get rid of such an opponent for decades, and make another wave of credit!

Of course, a lot of money is needed to fight a war, especially if someone Guo "black-heartedly" dispatched two mixed battalions and one cavalry battalion, with a total strength of nearly 3500 people, the materials, money and food that will be consumed are not a small amount.If it ends in a short period of time, it’s okay, and the Hezhong region will not be injured, but if it is delayed for a long time, a dozen will last for one, two, or even three years, then the old foundation accumulated over the years in the Hezhong region will not be destroyed. I emptied it out!So this is something that District Commissioner Jiao Tang can't tolerate, and this is why there are rumors that the relationship between the two is not good.

But now it sounds like someone Guo is determined to go east!Mao Jun and Tang Moyu, who are both second-generation army officers, felt a little sour when they thought of this.Of course, compared to them, Yang Liang Yang, who made the plan but had no chance to realize it, should be more depressed, especially when he is now in Europe whose future is uncertain.

(End of this chapter)