Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1975 Terrace (28)

"The orchard at the foot of Helan Mountain is complete, and the south of Saibei is famous in the old days." Cai Huaze, the soon-to-be-retired commissioner of the Northern Patagonia Regional Administration, gently stroked the couplets carved on both sides of the gate in a certain orchard in the western suburbs of Dingnan Town, as if Caressing his lover's face.

In the orchard, there was a large group of Italian-born non-national laborers who were working hard to pick fruit. They looked at Cai Huaze who was surrounded by people with fearful eyes, wondering what this gray-haired old man was thinking.Isn't it just a gate with some Chinese characters carved on it, so pretty?Could it be that this state-owned orchard with a long history was built by Cai Huaze himself?

The team leaders of the orchard took sticks and went forward to disperse the Italians who were close to watching, and then welcomed Cai Huaze and others inside.The orchard has a large area and has planted more than 1 fruit trees including grapes, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, apples, and pears. The fruits harvested every year are exported to the east coast prairie, duck lake, Brazilian plateau, South Africa, etc. The land has gained a lot of profits, making Dingnan County a well-known rich county.

Of course, Dingnan County and Luyang County, such an oasis on the Ludang River, are not without competitors on the east coast!Its main opponent is undoubtedly the farmers in Hai'an County who also operate orchards, vegetable bases and nurseries in places such as the Chubut River Oasis.This place was developed earlier than the Ludang River Basin. The sunlight is equally abundant, the temperature difference between day and night is the same, and the soil texture is almost the same. Naturally, the fruits and vegetables grown are not much different.

Therefore, in the east coast fruit market, the competition among fruit farmers and merchants in Dingnan, Hai'an, and Luyang counties is very fierce.In order to defeat their competitors, they do everything possible, such as advertising, soliciting relationships, finding agents, etc., using all means to increase their own advantages and seize more market share.Up to now, with the increasing population on the east coast and the wealthier the country, the consumer market for this fruit and its derivatives (including fresh fruit, dried fruit, jam, canned food, fruit wine, etc.) is getting bigger and bigger, so commercial capital And industrial capital also began to quickly enter this industry, and gradually formed a three-legged situation in the oasis of the Chubut River and Ludang River: Ma's Fruit Industry, Xuji Foods, and many state-run orchards (belonging to the National Grain Reserve library).

These three companies are not only industrial capital, but also commercial capital.They have encircled a large area of ​​land and operated their own orchards—due to the lack of labor force, the state-run orchards have great advantages in this regard, and the other two self-operated orchards are far smaller than them—at the same time, they also purchased a large number of local fruit farmers to produce fruit, and then transported to other places for sale.

In addition, various fruit processing factories are also blooming here, processing all kinds of locally produced fruits, making various finished products and then exporting them to external areas to obtain profits.The scale of this kind of business is so large that during the debate over which of the two wool transportation lines should be built first, the northern line (Dingnan County-Yancheng County) finally gained the upper hand because of the developed local fruit industry. , was identified as the priority line for construction.

"Your good days are coming. The construction of the special railway line for wool transportation is basically a certainty. The preliminary decision is made by the superiors. The construction of Yancheng Port is opposite, and I hope that this railway can be completed as soon as possible after the funds are in place." Cai Huaze walked slowly into the orchard and said: "Once this railway is repaired, the opportunity for you to take off will come. Now, the opportunity to take off in Northern Patagonia will come."

Cai Huaze is already very old. Although he is in good health, he is not suitable to continue to be a high-ranking member of the regional administrative office after all.What's more, when Yang Mingyang retired a few years ago, he had already served as the commissioner of the South and North Patagonia regions for several years, and the prestige that should be played is almost in place, and the official addiction that should have been passed. Now is the time to drop everything and process your guts for the next generation.

Cai Huaze has already decided that after his final visit to the counties of Northern Patagonia, he will leave this place where he has struggled for many years, and return to Cai's hometown to live his life.He will step down from all positions, including his status as a member of the Founders' Council (which will be inherited by his eldest son Cai Hao), and stay out of the world until the day he leaves this world.

Before leaving, he was of course willing to do more things for Patagonia, such as the establishment of a special railway for wool transportation.It was not easy for him and Yang Mingyang to work on this railway in the office of a group of young cadres with their old faces, and finally successfully won the approval of the project.You must know that the Eastern Republic of China has been increasing its military expenditure for several years in a row, and the funds in all aspects are being reduced. However, Tie Gongji, who is a big spender, can still invest in new projects. It was a miracle.

The northern line of the wool transport railway is more than 5 kilometers long, which is even longer than many railways in densely populated northern areas in terms of mileage.Fortunately, it is an important agricultural production area nearby, with abundant food. At the same time, there is also the Ludang River that can transport various equipment and personnel. In addition, the weather nearby is dry, and people and animals are not easy to get sick. Therefore, if it is really going to be built, the cost will not be too high. .If it is spread over 7-[-] years, it is still affordable.

And once this railway is built, grain, fruit, wool, leather, bacon, and tallow from the Ludang River Basin can be continuously transported to Yancheng Port, and daily necessities, industrial products, medicines, and other commodities from the outside world can also be transported by railway. Dingnan County and other places have greatly promoted the local economy. It is no wonder that the local people have been looking forward to the construction of this railway for many years.

Of course, the above are all considered from an economic point of view. From a political point of view, the special line for wool transportation is also of great significance.As we all know, the north-south Andes Mountains in the Patagonian platform divide the South American continent into two parts. On the left is the humid Chilean region, and on the right is the arid and desolate semi-arid grassland.Needless to say, the Chilean region has silver mines, tin mines, mercury mines, sulfur mines, and struvite. There are also extremely rich fishery resources and sea animal resources in the offshore. The Central Valley is the first choice for farming and raising people. land.In addition, in recent years, the expedition team secretly sent by the East Coast Republic has also brought back high-grade copper ore from many local areas, which has caused a great sensation, not to mention that there are rumors circulating in the Ministry of Geology There are "rumors" of huge reserves of saltpeter mines in the deserts of northern Chile, so this place in Chile cannot be abandoned anyway!Even though it is now in the hands of the Spaniards, they must find a way to take it back in the future, no matter what means they use, as the foundation of the east coast in the Pacific Ocean.

Therefore, when the wool transportation line extends to the foot of the Andes, it will inevitably have a strong deterrent effect on the Chilean region, making some ambitious people with separatist ideas dare not act rashly.From this point of view, these railways still have the meaning of maintaining the territorial integrity of the country. No wonder the higher authorities agreed to build them under such difficult circumstances. It is indeed necessary.

"Of course, the country agrees to build the railway here, and there are conditions." Cai Huaze changed the subject at this time and got to the point, only to hear him say: "This time I went to Beijing, and had a good chat with Director General Chen. He said that of course the railway will help us build it, but our area has been too quiet in the past few years, and there has been no major action, and the leaders are a little dissatisfied. Therefore, he suggested that we cross the Baoxing River to the north, expand forward, and set up an outpost there , to lay a solid foundation for future cross-border reclamation of immigrants to the north. After all, now that the wool industry is developing rapidly, our herdsmen also need a larger range of pastures. The area north of the Baoxing River is actually farther away from the river bank than ours. The place is much better and it is very suitable for raising sheep. So, you know how to do it. Don't worry about the Spaniards, they are busy now! Don't worry about someone giving justice to the Kingdom of Spain, there is no such thing in the world Such a country, so you can do it with confidence and boldly, without considering the slightest consequences, the only thing you need to worry about is whether you can transport all kinds of materials there stably."

In fact, what Cai Huaze mentioned just now is not to worry about the Spaniards. It is not his nonsense, but the mainstream understanding of the upper class on the east coast.The direct reason is that the Kingdom of Spain has just sent a mission to the capital on the east coast. The mission of this mission is to persuade the East China Republic to join Spain and form an alliance against the "shameless invader" Kingdom of France. For this reason, they are even willing to Pay some price.

The East Coast has yet to give an official answer on whether to accept the Spaniard's invitation.Because in their view, Louis XIV is actually quite interesting, allowing many goods from the East Coast to be sold in the French market, so is it necessary for the people of the East Coast to target such a country that is at least superficially showing goodwill?

Of course, all this ultimately depends on the extent of the efforts of the Spaniards. For example, if they make some concessions on the territorial issue, it is easy to gain the friendship of the people on the east coast and then help them "arrange" some enemies.After all, in the eyes of people on the east coast, only land is eternal, and commercial interests should be taken seriously in the short term, but compared with land, they are indeed inferior.

And no matter what the talks between the Spanish Kingdom's mission and the East Bank are, at least at this sensitive moment, they don't want to make trouble deep down in their hearts, so that's why Cai Huaze said just now: The Spaniards are When you need something from me, you guys are afraid, keep going north, and cross the border to cultivate!

(End of this chapter)