Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 546

The Amur River in late October has become increasingly cold, especially in this era, it is even colder.

The "Fenshui" steam engine sailboat had just returned from upstream. They picked up more than 200 Shandan people on the north bank of the river, and sent them a considerable amount of hay, grain, cotton clothes, briquettes, spirits and other supplies.Only half of the hundreds of soldiers from Henan who were assigned to Henggunzhai last year survived. The heavy labor, harsh climate, and unacceptable water and soil caused nearly [-] emaciated Henan people to die on the banks of the Amur River.Outsiders, after all, it is difficult to adapt to the climate here!

In fact, as long as we compare the Dabo area with a milder climate than that of the Amur River, the residents who settled here in the first year will have a death rate of about 15%-20% if they survive the winter.Of course, if you have survived the first year, then basically you have initially adapted to the climate here. In addition, with the deepening of the development of Dabo, the vigorous construction of brick and stone huts with fireplaces and fire pits, the death rate of residents is linear. Descending, even some newborns fit in here just fine.

Compared with Dabo, the mortality rate of first-year residents in Heishui Port, which has a colder climate, is quite low.This is mainly due to the improvement of urban facilities here and the advanced housing system of residents, which effectively guarantee the winter life of residents.The coal mines outside the city continuously deliver fuel to the city, transported by pack horses in summer, and transported by sledges from the river in winter, in short, 24-hour non-stop production in preparation for the peak period of coal use after the beginning of spring 's arrival

To be honest, the coal produced by the Heishui Coal Mine is extremely high-quality hard coal, which is an ideal thermal coal.Without this coal mine, it can be said that most of the ships of the East Coast Blackwater Temporary Task Force—mainly those motor sailing ships—would have become decorations, unable to effectively undertake the heavy responsibility of transporting immigrants.And this is why people on the east coast chose Heishui Port as the core city in the Far East. This is a city born of coal.

The quarries, lumberyards, and coal mines outside the city continue to operate in winter.In this era, Russians in Siberia had to work on their farmland and prepare winter hay for their livestock in other seasons, so they only had time to come out in winter to earn some cash income. The main channel was mining—many of which were gold. Mining, logging and tanning leather, so that there will be enough cash to pay the ravenous tax collectors in the spring.Many of them are outdoor work, even in the severe cold of minus [-] to [-] degrees, they still have to work.Later generations of Belvi, Chekhov (this king was exiled to Sakhalin Island) and others once used their own personal experience to tell the history of the difficult development of Russian farmers in Siberia and the Far East through literary works.

Residents of Sakhalin Island have to work in winter, as do Temple Street and Henggunzhai on the banks of the Amur River.For example, at the temple street wharf at this time, a large number of Shandan women were lined up, using the soda ash brought in by people from the east coast to start tanning leather.The leather is mainly wild sheepskin, occasionally mixed with a small amount of mink, fox, wolf, bear and other valuable furs.In the early autumn of this year, a hunting team caught a herd of wild sheep in the barren meadow north of Temple Street, with a number of more than 3000.After some arduous hunting, the hunters of Shandan successfully captured most of the wild sheep. After using the precious salt also sent by the people from the east coast, about half of the wild sheep were made into bacon, and the rest Wild goats were locked up together as food reserves.

Now selling all kinds of fur, cured meat, and animal fat to the gentlemen on the east bank has become an important income for the residents of Henggunzhai and Temple Street.The masters on the east bank sold skinning knives, salt and soda ash on credit to the bitter Daurs, Oroqen, and Buryats, and then let them use tanned leather, salted bacon, and animal fat to pay for it.If there is a surplus of goods sold, the people on the east coast will also suggest that they buy some leather shoes, cotton coats, spirits, shredded tobacco, cane sugar, etc., to recover the remaining cash they may have on hand.

Of course, if you wanted to "get rich quick," then serving as a soldier for the East Coasters was definitely the way to go.Don’t you see that among the warriors who returned from the battle, which one didn’t have a bulging waist and a lot of money?Sweet sucrose, spicy shredded tobacco, strong spirits, and warm cotton coats, you can buy any of them, not only for yourself, but also for your family.Therefore, under such a demonstration effect, more and more Shandan people tend to join the army to fight, and finally it gradually became a popular trend.

This time, the "Fenshui" steam engine sailboat went to Henggun Village in the upper reaches to pick up the more than 200 strong young men, who are the new batch of Shandan people who enlisted in the army.They will join more than 300 people gathered in Temple Street, and then go to the pier of Rishiri Island together, waiting for the boat to take them away.Yes, you read that right, they are not going to Jeju or Yantai, but to the mainland on the east coast.They will go to Australia by boat with ordinary immigrants, and then wait for the boat to take them back to the east coast.

In view of the deteriorating relationship with the Spaniards, Peng Zhicheng also asked Mo Ming in his letter to recruit some soldiers who could adapt to the combat environment in cold areas, so that in case of war with the Spaniards, the people on the east coast could fight in the cold climate of Chile. The southern region stood its ground, and then, together with those Araucan guerrillas, launched an attack on the Spanish colonists in Chile.As Shandan people who are naturally resistant to cold, they are naturally an excellent candidate for this operation.They endure hunger and cold, are simple and loyal, coupled with their wildness, and excellent wild survival and ambush skills, they will definitely give the Spaniards in the central and southern regions of Chile an unforgettable deep impression.

Compared with the reluctance of the Ming people when they left their homeland, these Shandan people with a lower level of civilization have no sense of nostalgia. They are optimistic about starting a new adventure life in a distant new continent.For them, as long as there is money to take, meat to eat, wine to drink, warm clothes to wear, and women to sleep in, then there is no doubt that there is heaven.They don't care what New World or Old World they are in, they only care about their own lives.

Nearly 200 elites were taken away from Henggun Village and Temple Street this time. If it was in the past, it would definitely hurt the vitality of any large tribe.But today, with the increasing population of the two places, this is not a big problem.In just one year from last year to this year, more than 800 foreigners came to defect to the two villages. Among them, more than 3000 people went to Temple Street, and more than [-] people went to Henggun Village. The population reached about [-] respectively.

In addition, this year, people from the east bank sent more than 1000 soldiers from the Green Camp of the Qing army captured in the north of the river to the Amur River Basin this year, and at the same time dispatched seven to eight hundred young women from Jeju Island to come here, so this fertile black land The population explosion on the land is certain.A few months ago, with the approval of Mo Ming, the leader of the Blackwater Pioneering Team, the Dongan People's third camp on the Amur River, the Jiangdong Village near Marinskoye, Russia, was officially established.In addition to more than 700 surrendered troops from the green battalion of the Qing army and more than 400 Korean women, there are more than [-] wounded and retired soldiers who came forward, and more than [-] Shandan people who defected from nearby.

A total of more than [-] settlers have already repaired the winter camp and a simple wooden pier. With the food, hay and livestock brought by the people from the east coast, they can barely fool through this winter.Besides, after the river freezes in winter, they can easily get in touch with Henggunzhai and Temple Street downstream by sledge. Even if there is a slight shortage of supplies or cold-proof materials, they can temporarily borrow some from these two places.Although these two "old settlements" are still not fully self-sufficient in food this year, the gap is not big. If you count the large number of salmon and wild sheep caught in autumn, there is still a certain surplus of food. There is nothing wrong with supporting the new settlement of Jiangdongzhai with a little food.

The Ming people are constantly moving into the Amur River Basin, and at the same time, the local Shandan young and strong are conscripted to fight on the mainland or even on the east coast. It is clear what Mo Mingmo’s thoughts on this land are, and this is to greatly change the population here. The rhythm of composition!Given the fertility of the land in the Amur River Basin, even in the current cold climate, only one season of rye or oats can be planted a year, and the grain harvest will never be bad.Besides, there are still very rich fishery resources and animal resources here. If the population density is not particularly high, there is no reason why they will not be able to survive.The Russians can survive in colder places than this, so even if the people on the east coast are not as adaptable as the other side, in time, they will eventually be able to take root here.After accumulating a certain amount of population and supplies, it will be able to provide a rear supply base for the east bank troops going south, so that the Qing army in the Ningguta area will never be peaceful.

The mayor of Temple Street appointed by the East Coast people quickly sent more than 300 strong and strong men to the steam boat of the East Coast people, and then put a batch of hundreds of various furs on board, saying that they were going to Rishiri Island Register the transaction.After a brief farewell to their families, these fearless Shandan newcomers sat quietly on the deck of the "Fenshui", looking at the back of the town that was gradually going away, looking forward to their own success. Down to the good life.

After carefully avoiding two ice floes, the "Fenshui" raised its sails, and then drove faster and faster under the strong northwest wind.Soon, the four big characters "Glorious to be a soldier" painted with lime water on the wooden lighthouse at the temple street wharf in the distance became smaller and smaller, gradually becoming a series of small dots and then disappeared from everyone's sight.

(End of this chapter)