Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 81 A New Beginning ([-])

After seeing off the Spaniards, Liu Yun hurried back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Many police officers in the office building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs sat around bragging and chatting, doing nothing.At present, there are no prisoners in the prisons of the Ministry of the Interior and the limestone mines.In the previous war with the Spaniards, hundreds of Charuyas and European prisoners of war were all pardoned, and these people immediately participated in the war with the Spaniards. After the war, the Executive Committee kept its promise and gave these people freeman status.Therefore, those who currently work in the limestone mines are no longer legally slaves, but wage workers.Therefore, there is no need for the Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior to maintain a large number of supervisors there, so many police officers have withdrawn.

When these people saw Liu Yun coming in, they all greeted each other.Liu Yun took off the police cap on his head, stroked his hair, and said with a smile: "Okay, don't be lazy there, you have to do something."

"What? Boss, are you really alive?" Bai Shui, a senior police officer who passed through the crowd, jumped up and asked, "Nimma, when there were prisoners guarding them, the big guys got allowances every day, but now it's all right, once the prison is emptied , the brothers can only live on a dead wage of two yuan a month, and if things go on like this, morale will not be boosted."

"Then there's no need to ask?!" Liu Yun threw his hat to him, then turned around and poured himself a glass of water, and said while drinking, "Dingyuan Fort has ended its pioneering team system, and it has been officially upgraded to Dingyuan Township now. , belongs to the leadership of the Dongfang County government. Minister Jiao of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and I revealed that the police, prison guards, and supervisors of our Ministry of Internal Affairs will be unified into the Dongfang County Police Station. In addition, Dingyuan Township will also set up a public security police station , some of you will be drawn over.”

"How can there be so many positions for us in just one police station?" Bai Shui was a little discouraged.A police station had to set up a director and a deputy director. He secretly calculated and found that there were many competitors, and he was not fully sure that he could become the leader.

"Hey! There is really more than one police station." Liu Yun took a big sip of water, then smiled and said in Baishui's earnest eyes: "Isn't this the establishment of the coal working group, and we will go to Duck Lake (that is, Patu Lake) Sihu) Basin mining site. The working group leader Shao has already ordered, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will send 12 policemen to accompany him. Don’t blame me for not reminding you, this is a big opportunity, it depends on whether you can grasp it clearly. I don't want to go."

Bai Shui struggled a little after hearing this.According to his original intention, he naturally intended to stay at Dingyuan Fort, but considering the current unprecedented and fierce competition situation, should he avoid it properly?Would it be more beneficial for me to avoid the popular area of ​​Dingyuan Township Police Station and find another way to develop in the north?Bai Shui was a little confused for a moment.

Ignoring the entanglement and arrogance of the police officers in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, let us turn our perspective to the Naval Shipyard by the Dayu River.At this time, the most eye-catching thing on the berth is naturally a double-decked battleship that has been officially finalized as the "August [-]th" class.Previously, a Walloon shipbuilder suggested to Wang Qinian that judging from previous European naval battles and the naval tactics of passing through the masses, the tactics of using broadside guns against the enemy will become the mainstream of naval warfare. Therefore, it is necessary to design a multi-deck, main A battle line gunboat that meets the enemy with broadside artillery is very necessary.The naval leaders of the crossing people all come from later generations, so they naturally understand that battleships are the backbone of a country's navy.Therefore, Wang Qinian happily approved the naval shipyard's shipbuilding application, but he changed the plan of two ships to one.This is not the discovery of his conscience, but mainly the result of his comprehensive consideration.

The lead ship of the "August 400" class battleship "August 500" started construction during the war with the Spanish.At the beginning, it was just to use a large number of dry ship materials in the shipyard, so as not to waste them there.The positioning of the ship at that time was only an escort gunboat, with a displacement of about [-]-[-] tons.It's just that after the Walloon craftsman proposed the idea of ​​the battleship, Wang Qinian personally ordered to change the design of the battleship, so the material and cost of the ship began to rise linearly.

At that time, someone in the Ministry of the Navy had roughly calculated that if the double-deck battleship was completed, it was estimated that more than 900 high-quality mahogany trees would be needed, most of which would need to be imported from Brazil.In addition to artillery, canvas, rigging, cables, decoration, etc., the cost of the entire ship is estimated to be around 8 to 10 yuan.

Naturally, such a high cost cannot be approved by the Executive Committee.Therefore, as soon as the war was over, the Executive Committee immediately entrusted the Joint Staff Headquarters to organize personnel to conduct an investigation at the shipyard after hearing some rumors.At that time, the ship had just started construction for more than three months. The investigation team asked the Minister of the Navy Wang Qinian what the cost of the ship was, and bluntly said that if the cost exceeded 5 yuan, the construction would be stopped immediately.At that time, Wang Qinian patted his chest and said that it could be built for only 5 yuan, so the investigation team let go of this ship to replace the soon-to-be-retired Yunsheng No. [-].

Of course, the navy people who know the real situation are not so optimistic. This ship is destined to become a deep pit for the Ministry of the Navy.In the next year, it depends on how Wang Qinian will use all kinds of means to maintain the construction of this warship.In this regard, there are many malicious people in the Ministry of the Navy who boldly speculate that their Minister Wang probably wants to use thick-skinned tactics and learn from Russia's old trick of refitting the "Vikramaditya" aircraft carrier for India, but they don't know. How will the executive committee and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who are furious after the truth, treat him.

But today our protagonist is obviously not this large battleship. Next to this battleship are 4 small flat-bottomed boats that have been built.These punts had a displacement of 18-20 tons and were intended for the subsequent expedition of the Coal Working Group into Duck Lake (Lake Patus).

At this time some Charuya laborers were hauling the four flat-bottomed boats into the water, and their job was to row them safely to the East Coast Eagle and Galley, which are now moored in the shipyard. The two large ships of the "Flying Fish of West Asia", and then tightened the cables.Next, the four ships will be towed by two large ships to the mouth of Duck Lake.

Many people gathered in the Naval Shipyard today, most of them are members of the coal working group who are about to go to the Duck Lake Basin for exploration and development.According to the plan formulated by Shao Shude, member of the Executive Committee, minister of supplies, and leader of the coal working group, on September 9, that is, today, the first batch of expeditions will set off.

The scale of this first expedition was not small, consisting of two platoons of infantry, one platoon of cavalry, four police officers or intelligence collectors, eight prospectors, two interns, one veterinarian, and one biologist. It consists of a family and a leading officer, and the total number of members is 60.At present, the Duck Lake Basin in Rio Grande do Sul is just in the beginning of spring, and the climate is relatively cold. Risk factors such as coral snakes and mosquitoes that affect the safety of explorers can be minimized.

Captain Xu Yu, the commander of the cavalry battalion, was the leading officer of the expedition. He looked at the people gathered around him: two platoons from the army; The police, intelligence personnel are led by Baishui; these are responsible for security.The two doctors are Pastor Francis and another young man from England. In addition, there is the prospecting team led by Ai Cha.

Strictly speaking, among the more than 500 people who traveled through the crowd, there were no talents in prospecting.But this time I went to look for coal near the Duck Lake. The scope was clear, just near Porto Alegre, so there was no difficulty, at most it was bad luck and it took more time.Ai Cha, a young man from Hunan, less than 30 years old, has no personal skills. He was originally just a prostitute who passed through the crowd, and he was called "Ai Zha".However, when he was young, he was trafficked to the black coal mine in Shanxi to dig coal for a while. With such a wonderful experience, he can be regarded as a rare half-talent among the people.Therefore, Shao Shude promoted him to be the captain of the prospecting team, and at the same time assigned him five Charuya assistants.

At nine o'clock in the morning, everything was ready, and the members of the expedition team started rowing in four small boats to the two big ships moored on the sea.The bay sheltered by the breakwater was calm, and the 60 expedition members were divided into four groups, struggling to slide their oars away.Their luggage, weapons, horses and other items had been shipped onto the "Eagle of the East Coast" as early as last night. In addition to these things, the "Eagle of the East Coast" also loaded some extra items such as spirits, Trading items such as cotton cloth, knives, and iron pots are used to bribe the Indians in case they encounter them. After all, it is better not to avoid conflicts.In the eyes of the Executive Committee, maintaining a good relationship with the indigenous people is extremely important for the country.

Soon, everyone boarded the two large boats, and the four small boats were also firmly tied up with cables.Leonid Fyodorovich stood on the deck of the "Eagle of the East Coast", and when he looked at it in a blink of an eye, he frowned.Aiwani, the Charuya policeman who provoked him in the police station, was standing obliquely behind him, baring his teeth and grinning at him. The second lieutenant turned out to be the first officer of the ship.

Feeling a little depressed, Leonid turned around and walked towards the bottom cabin. Instead of watching the annoying people blowing the cold wind on the deck, he might as well take care of his beloved horse.

A gust of wind blew by, and the "Eagle of the East Coast" took the lead, followed by the "Galician Flying Fish", and sailed out of the naval shipyard one by one, heading north with the wind.

(End of this chapter)