Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2368 Jilu Township

On March 1699, 3, in the depths of the Pampa Plain, an elderly man in a sky-blue vice-admiral uniform came to a certain military base surrounded by crowds.

The base is located in the mountains dozens of kilometers west of the newly established Jilu Township, Anshan County, and has always been inaccessible.However, in recent years, under the guidance of government investment, the number of people has gradually increased due to the needs of project construction.There are two main construction projects, one is the road system leading to the opposite side of the Andes Mountains, and the other is the intermountain water diversion project roughly parallel to the road.

The starting point of the road is Dingnan Town, which is a second-class national road. About one-third of it has been repaired so far. In the future, it will cross the Andes in the west of Jilu Township and enter the Chilean side.The highway is a water-land combined transport system, that is, part of the road transportation and part of the water transportation, so some docks need to be repaired, and the 72-ton inland river small steamer with a shallow draft is used for back and forth transportation.Like most mountain-climbing roads, this road will be closed in winter, not only because the lake will freeze, but also because the mountains will be blocked by heavy snow and there is no way to go.

The winter snow in the Andes is violent, and most of the annual precipitation of 3000-4000 mm in the mountains appears in the form of snow in winter.Therefore, at the end of spring, when the snow starts to melt, the numerous lakes in the mountains will be filled with meltwater, and then overflow to the sides.

Because of the topography, most of the high-water meltwater flows into the Chilean side and eventually into the Pacific Ocean.But people on the east coast are not too happy to see this happen, and they obviously prefer that this meltwater flow to the east side, the southern cone area.Undoubtedly, the soil texture here is actually good, as evidenced by the dense oasis along the Chubut River, Ludang River, and Baoxing River. The local sunshine is abundant, the temperature difference between day and night is large, and the fruits produced are exported to various places. A very large industry.

Now, with the growing economic scale and population on the east coast—by the middle of 1698, the total population of the East China Republic had reached 1045.8 million, and 68.9% of the people were born on the east coast. Yes, 20.6% are immigrants from China, 9.8% are immigrants from other places (mainly Europe), and there are more than 30 non-national laborers - and there is also a growing demand for high-quality fruit , so staking has become a common practice in the South Cone Terrace.In order to encourage this industry, the East Bank government also allocated a large amount of funds from the water conservancy lottery to start the construction of the Alpine Water Diversion Project, which uses the latest technology to transform lakes and rivers in the mountains so that more water flows to the East Bank. side, to rehydrate a thirsty mesa.

Hundreds of thousands of yuan are invested in these projects every year. The pressure is not great, but the price lies in persistence.If you invest for decades, the local environment will definitely undergo drastic changes, which is very clear.In addition, the east bank government is definitely unable to directly recover the cost, because the annual investment of hundreds of thousands of yuan, even if some orchards and factories are added, cannot be recovered through tax collection.Of course, the government does not value these things. What they value more is that after the local environment changes, many people may be attracted to settle down, eventually forming large villages and towns, and when these villages and towns are formed, the construction of transportation facilities leading to Chile great convenience.On the whole, the government believes that the cost can still be recovered in the end, but this cycle is calculated in 50 or 100 years, including taxes (direct benefits), land value-added benefits, local social development benefits (for example, social development, The level of education has improved, and those who have achieved something have created greater value for the country), national defense benefits (communicating with the Chilean region, promoting cultural exchanges, reducing local centrifugal force, and reducing the cost of maintaining stability), etc.Counting these indirect or invisible benefits, it can even be said that the rate of return on this investment is very high, because most of its benefits are destined not to be reflected on the books.

By the way, Anshan County was established in June last year (1698). It has jurisdiction over Anshan Township, Lvguo Township, Heguaizi Township, Kenmu Township, Jilu Township and Shanquan Township. There are six settlements in total. The 193rd county-level administrative unit currently has more than 194 permanent residents.It was established together with Guanglu County (8000th County), which has jurisdiction over Guanglu Town, Woye Township, Anche Township, Bumin Township and Shisai Township, a total of five settlements with a population of about [-] look.

These two counties, both located at the eastern foot of the Andes Mountains, used to be Chile. The reason why they were established is self-evident.Not only these two counties, but also a series of settlements were established along the foothills of the east bank, namely: Aishan Township (located near the small village of El Sos Neado later), Liangcheng Town (the former Spanish colonial city San Rafael), Xiaxiang Township (located near the later village of El Nihuil), Zhupei Township (located near the later town of Pareditas), Chahe Township (located near the later town of Tunuyan) , Xilou Township (located near the later town of Uspayat), Shunhe Township (located near the later town of Mediaa Agua), Huangtai Township (located near the later town of Barreal), Fengshan Township ( Located near the later town of Rodeo), Changyuan Township (near the later town of Guandakol), a total of ten settlements were approved at the end of last year, and the first batch invested a total of 100 million yuan in French currency. More than 1 residents came to settle here.

With the support of sufficient funds, technology and manpower, these settlements will take about three years to initially build, and provide food, fruit, meat and some daily necessities stably, reducing the logistical costs of passing troops.And we can also see from the setting of these settlements that the people on the east coast now have a great strategic initiative. They can choose a location at will, pass through the low passes in the middle of the Andes, and enter the Chilean valley.Due to the long and narrow terrain of Chile and the inconvenient communication from the beginning to the end, it is easy to be cut into several sections by the people on the east coast, which eventually leads to the defeat of the whole line.

At present, the Spaniards have not yet known the big moves of the people on the east bank here (it is also a settlement, a reservoir, and a road). Messages become difficult.But those people in Shanxi should also know that there are so many passes in the Andes, it would be incredible if the people on the east coast didn't take advantage of them.In fact, you don’t have to worry about anything. If you don’t get a call, you will live as usual. If you get a call, you will surrender directly. At worst, you will be searched for some property. What a big deal!

However, the "cruel policy" of the people on the East Coast towards the Mestizos in recent years has also caused a certain degree of panic.What is the backbone of South American society?Neither Indians, nor native whites, nor peninsulas, but mestizos, the mixed descendants of Spanish and Indians.These people generally serve as military officers, soldiers, small and medium-sized businessmen, middle- and lower-level officials, small estate owners, handicraftsmen, business managers, etc. They are the tentacles of pure-blooded whites ruling the majority of Indians, operators of society, and the foundation of white rule. .They originally had fantasies about the East Coast, but after so many years of watching with cold eyes, they have already understood that there is no place for them in the plan of the East Coast people, just like there is no place for the Indians, and their final end is exile , very miserable.

Therefore, the Mestizo people have every reason to resist the aggression and rule of the East Coast people.For this point, the staff officers of the East Coast Military Department also have a deep understanding.It's just that these conceited soldiers didn't take their potential rebellion into account at all.In their view, resistance may not be a bad thing, just kill it!It also gave them an additional opportunity to earn military merits, which is simply not too beautiful.

At present, a considerable part of the East Coast Army has already dispatched to several bases in the eastern foothills of the Andes.Well, in fact, there are really not many people, mainly the newly formed seventh and eighth regiments.One of these two regiments was stationed in Jilu Township, Anshan County, and the other was stationed in Changyuan Township further north. While replenishing soldiers and equipment, they also carried out hard training, hoping to play their due role after the outbreak of future wars.

General Ding Zhenzhong, the newly elected Chief of Staff of the National Armed Forces, came to inspect today, so basically the whole regiment of the Seventh Mixed Regiment was pulled out, and a small-scale military parade was held on the playground.There are also two special troops participating in the military parade. One is composed of more than 3000 Mestizos. They are all selected from the officers and soldiers of the former Spanish colonial army. The equipment and uniforms are typical. The Spanish style is used as a sparring partner for the East Coast Army to familiarize themselves with the opponent's situation in advance.The size of the other army was only more than 2000 people, and they were basically French Huguenots who had fled to the east bank.They are also sparring partners. Their equipment, flags, and clothing are all French. They are required not to use Chinese in their daily conversations. They also eat French food. Even the barracks they live in are typical French-style buildings.In order to familiarize the soldiers with the situation in advance, the Ministry of the Army really broke their hearts!

The Jilu military base is located in a mountainous area, which was also specially selected.One is that it is close to Chile, so it is convenient to send troops, and the other is to simulate the geographical environment of northern Italy.It belongs to the Alps, and the terrain and altitude are not too different from the vicinity of the military base. In the future, the supplementary soldiers sent from China to Europe will have to train at the Jilu military base for more than half a year. After they are familiar with the mountain environment, they can fight against the mountain. After gaining a certain understanding of the skills, they will be shipped to Europe to make up for the shortage of soldiers on the Eagle's Nest Fortress.

Ding Zhen was not very impressed with the army's serious training.However, considering that the Navy is also conducting training near Tierra del Fuego to adapt to the windy and rough North Atlantic environment in advance, he didn't say anything.To put it bluntly, the East Coast has been at peace for decades. Although the daily training of the army has always been of high standards and strict requirements, and the equipment and equipment are also the most advanced, no one has any idea what will happen.In war, after all, it depends on people!It's not a bad thing to get used to it beforehand and make preparations to the extreme.

Isn't it just spending more money?Is it still a problem if it can be solved with money?

(End of this chapter)