Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2529 The vast land

The north wind blows the ground and the white grass breaks, Hu Tian blows snow in August, suddenly like a spring breeze overnight, thousands of trees and pear trees bloom.

It was already October in the Gregorian calendar, and the first layer of winter snow had already fallen on the land of North Manchuria.In the port of Vladivostok at the top of the Golden Horn Peninsula, an old-fashioned "East Coast Star" train carrying more than 100 tons of supplies started slowly and headed north.

The destination of this train is Shuangchengzi Town, which is also the farthest that the first railway (the Manchurian-Mongolian Standard Gauge Railway) can extend in the area under the jurisdiction of the Manchurian-Mongolian Pioneering Team.

The Manchurian-Mongolian Standard Gauge Railway has been proposed for almost 20 years.As early as 1679, Chen Ke, then captain of the pioneering team, proposed the plan of the Golden Horn Railway.The so-called Golden Horn Railway refers to the railway that runs through the entire Golden Horn Peninsula from north to south, with a design length of more than [-] kilometers.But for such a short railway, the Southern Railway Company has been delaying the construction due to various reasons. The reason is that their own operating pressure is huge. I spared no effort to build railways on the deserted land of Manchuria and Mongolia.

After Lu Xiaofeng took over as the leader of the development team, he brought up the old story again and asked to build a railway, but the Southern Railway Company once again declined.However, Lu Xiaofeng was not discouraged. He proposed an astonishing plan, the Manchurian-Mongolian Standard Gauge Railway Project, and warmly invited the Southern Railway Company to join the project. He promised that they would not care about the operation of the railway itself and its affiliated areas, and would listen to the management of the Southern Railway Company. .

The Southern Railway Company was very moved at one time, and they even sent a team to conduct field surveys and planned the route.But after the road map was drawn, it has been put on the shelf. Even though the Manchurian and Mongolian side promised to squeeze out part of the financial funds, and at the same time brought in the Bank of Taiwan, the three parties shared the funds, but guaranteed 51% of the shares of the Southern Railway Company. Still not working.

It seems that things are so yellow.Many people say that the population of Manchuria and Mongolia is too small and the economy is too poor to be suitable for railway construction.Heishui has a population of 30, with a developed economy and advanced technology, and there is no talk of building a railway. Why are you so busy?Even many officials in Manchuria and Mongolia think so. Military operations have consumed huge resources. Can their financial resources really support another large-scale infrastructure project while launching a war?

In the end, it was Wei Wendu's appointment that changed everything.The leader of the pioneering team, who was born as a military officer, was very enthusiastic about the construction of the Manchurian-Mongolian Standard Gauge Railway, and he pushed it with all his strength.But at the same time, he was also very practical and proposed to build a short section first, that is, the first phase of the Manchurian-Mongolia Standard Gauge Railway, from Vladivostok Port to Shuangchengzi County, with a total length of about 120 kilometers.After the first phase is completed, everyone will look at the effect. If it is good, we will discuss the construction of the next phase.

It should be said that Wei Wendu's proposal is very realistic, and the joint establishment of the Bank of Taiwan is also very much in favor of it.In addition, the finances of the Southern Railway Company had been greatly improved, and the cash flow was relatively abundant, so the three parties had no objections, and finally signed a railway construction agreement in 1697, and started construction that year.

Today is October 1704, 10. After many shutdowns and delays, the first phase of the Manchurian-Mongolia Standard Gauge Railway finally opened to traffic half a year ago.From then on, a large number of people and materials could go ashore in Vladivostok, and then transported to the hinterland of Manchuria and Mongolia through this railway, and most importantly, to Harbin, the core capital city where a large number of soldiers were stationed.

Yes, the ultimate goal of the Manchurian-Mongolian Standard Gauge Railway is to connect Harbin and Vladivostok.The former is the administrative capital, the military center, and the economic center of the mainland with a large population. The latter is a seaport city and a commercial center where a large amount of materials can be collected and distributed. If the logistics cost between the two cities can be reduced, this situation can be greatly improved. An economic environment provides a huge impetus for development.

At present, the plan for the second phase of the Manchurian-Mongolian standard gauge railway has been proposed, that is, from Shuangchengzi to Suifenhe, the planned length is about 120 kilometers, which is comparable to the first phase, but the cost should not be as much as the first phase. However, construction and procurement funds of more than 100 million won are always required.Needless to say, the money was paid by the three parties together, and it was injected into a company called the Manchurian-Mongolian Standard Gauge Railway Company in proportion. This company is the owner and operator of the first and second phases of the standard gauge railway.

The first phase and the second phase of the railway add up to more than 240 kilometers, obliquely passing through the entire fertile plain.In this piece of black land called the Xingkai Lake Plain by the people on the east coast, more and more people have settled down now.They felled wood and plowed the fields, fished and hunted, raised bees in their free time, panned for gold, and picked some wild products. Their lives were quite decent.With the official opening of the first phase of the Manchurian-Mongolian Standard Gauge Railway, their remaining agricultural and sideline products, wild goods, leather and wool can be sold to farther places through this traffic artery.In a word, the market is bigger and there are more choices, and the income will naturally rise.

As for the Suifenhe to Ningguta section of the third phase of the Manchurian-Mongolian Standard Gauge Railway, the total mileage exceeds 160 kilometers, and it may not be considered in the short term.Unless there are some major changes, or the funds are suddenly abundant, there will be no possibility of project approval in the next five years, and it will be exhausted to do some preliminary survey and demonstration work, and there will be no substantive actions.

Of course, some people also asked whether it is possible to build a railway from Shuangchengzi to the north, along the east bank of Xingkai Lake, through Heicheng County, and directly to Boli City.The value of this railway is also great. Most of the routes pass through the plains with rich products, and it is not far from the mountains. The natives can also come to trade, which is very beneficial to the economic development and national integration of Manchuria and Mongolia.But this proposal was rejected almost immediately. The reason is that the capital of Manchuria and Mongolia is not in Khabarovsk but in Harbin. At this stage, all energy must be devoted to the direction of Harbin. This is not only an economic issue, but also a political issue. ,Not negotiable.

Today's train from Vladivostok transports construction materials, metal tools, food and medicine.After arriving at Shuangchengzi Railway Station, they will be transported westward by horse-drawn carriage, because the Manchurian pioneering team has established several new settlements in that area, and the above-mentioned materials are urgently needed.These settlements are: Laoheishan Township (located near Laoheishan Town in later generations), Luozigou Township (located near Luozigou Town in later generations), and Wangqing Township (located near Wangqing County in later generations).

In addition, a fleet had already landed along the coast of Pochet Bay in later generations, and resettled a total of [-] immigrants in three newly established settlements: Chunhua Township (located near Chunhua Town in later generations), Hunchun Township (located near the later Hunchun City), Mokuowei Township (located near the small town of Poshet later), and Pinlu Township (located near the later Zarubino Port), a total of four settlements, of which Pinlu Township belongs to Vladivostok County jurisdiction.

Hunchun, Chunhua, Mokuowei, Laoheishan, Luozigou, and Wangqing, a total of six settlements with a total population of more than 5000, have been designated as one county in principle, that is, Hunchun County.The county is roughly located in the north of the Tumen River and in the south of Vladivostok and Shuangchengzi counties. The territory is mostly mountainous, and the plains are mainly located along the coast, along the river and in some isolated mountain valleys.In view of the fact that the North Koreans have started sporadic activities in the area south of the Tumen River where the ownership rights are relatively vague in recent years, Wei Wendu, the captain of the Manchurian Pioneering Team, was very dissatisfied. In addition to sending people to reprimand him, he also planned to send a group of people urgently Cross the Tumen River, go to the south bank to survey the terrain, plan to set up a few settlements first, and occupy this land before talking about it, lest the Koreans keep thinking about it.There should be no delay in this matter, and it will be implemented next year (1705) at the latest.

A small North Korea dares to covet the land on the east coast of my country. I really don't know who is in charge of the ups and downs of this vast land?

While the coastal areas were in full swing for construction, and there were railways and new settlements, at the other end of the railways, a series of construction operations were also taking place around Harbin Fort, the capital of the Manchurian-Mongolian pioneering team.They mainly focused on consolidating and digesting, that is, thoroughly sorting out the territory that belonged to the Qing Dynasty that had been conquered over the years. Generally, they used methods such as compilation of household registration, relocation, education assimilation, commercial infiltration, and military coercion. , after several years of rectification, it has been initially digested, and worries about the future have been relieved.

They also established some new settlements, such as Fuyuan Township (located near the later Fuyuan County) and Raohe Township (located near the later Raohe County). That is Tongjiang County.In the north of Heilongjiang, three new counties were also established, namely Zhenwei County under the jurisdiction of Zhenwei Town (later Alhara Township) and Amgon Township (located near the source of the Amgon River); Guining Township, Daren Township (located near the later town of Novoskole Shenovka), Guining County; and Yaksa Township, Xinrong Township (located near the later Solovyovsk), Tenda Township (located near the small town of Tengda in the later generations), and Yaksa County in Yunxing Township (located near the small town of Nerunengli in the later generations).

In the Ergun River Basin, Mohe County under the jurisdiction of Mohe Town, Mangui Tun Township, Alongshan Tun Township, and Jinhe Tun Township was also established.This is the first county in the Hulunbeier area (established by the military area under the jurisdiction of the Hulunbuir advance detachment), and it can be regarded as a symbol of the transformation of the social order in the westernmost territory of Manchuria and Mongolia.

So far, the Manchurian Pioneering Team has 80 counties under its jurisdiction, in addition to several military forts directly under it and townships under its management.Under the circumstances of vigorously promoting people's fertility, speeding up immigration, and recruiting natives and Mongolians to register households, the total population of the jurisdiction has exceeded [-], and it is the undisputed number one power in the vast land of Manchuria, Mongolia and the outer Northeast. , no one can beat him directly.Russians can't!Mongols can't!Neither can the Qing people!

(End of this chapter)