1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 159 The direction of the expansion of Hanzhou

September 1636 was a harvest month for Hanzhou.

The more than 3000 mu of farmland in Jianye City and Heishan City ushered in a bumper harvest compared to February this year.A total of more than 900 tons of various grain crops have been harvested, of which the largest grain types are still corn, sorghum, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. As for wheat, there are only a pitiful 400 tons.

The significant increase in grain production has more than tripled from the previous season. On the one hand, the fertility of the farmland has improved significantly after a season of growth. On the other hand, the continuous expansion of cultivated land is also an important reason for the increase in grain production.

At present, apart from the staple food, Hanzhou is fully self-sufficient in coarse grains and vegetables.However, with the development of Hanzhou and the gradual increase of population, it is obviously unrealistic to feed thousands of people with coarse grains.

After more than three months of continuous transshipment, most of the more than [-] hungry people stranded on Xinsheng Island (Fuguo Island) have been transported back to Hanzhou, fully enriching the population of Jianye, Heishan, and Xinhuaian.

As of September 240th, the population of Hanzhou had reached 600, not including the 810 or so people still stranded in Batavia.The female population is 200, including more than [-] Persian slave girls brought back from Aceh by Qi Dajiang, and more than [-] Aceh women.

However, in view of the fact that the immigrants transported back from Daming are still mainly young and strong men, the sex ratio of the Hanzhou population has reached 157:100.This means that there are nearly [-] bachelors in Hanzhou.

However, what is ironic is that the ratio of male to female in the two transit points of Hanzhou Overseas, Xinxiangbao and Xinshengbao, is close to 120:100.

Gein, Xinshengbao is relatively close to Ming Dynasty, and there are small countries such as Chenla, Champa, and Annan nearby, so it is easier to obtain women.

As for Xinxiangbao, when a large number of women were transiting here to be transported, Chen Dalang "drifted" a considerable number of women and stayed in Xinxiangpu to stabilize the hearts of the people, which made the local residents extremely happy.

In mid-September, Hanzhou received a rather unexpected message from Xinshengbao.Zheng Zhilong sent his son, Zheng Cai, to Guangzhou to negotiate with Hanzhou's left-behind personnel here, claiming that they will no longer intercept Hanzhou's transfer of hungry people from Daming, and they can also help them collect hungry people from all over Daming to Guangzhou.As long as Hanzhou pays eight taels of silver for each Dingkou, he can pull people at the Guangzhou wharf.

Of course, it is also possible for Han Zhou to go to various places in Ming Dynasty to collect refugees and hire Zheng Zhilong's fleet to transport them as far as Champa.

Luo Rucheng in Xinshengbao heard this, first he was overjoyed, then he looked puzzled, what did Zheng Zhilong mean by this?

"What's the point? It's nothing more than two points. One is to add some sand to our Hanzhou, and inquire about our development by the way; the other is to help us accumulate more population. When we become stronger, we will inevitably compete with the Netherlands. People have all kinds of conflicts and even frictions. If we don’t make it right, we can attack the Dutch with us!” Qi Tian said.

After hearing Qi Tian's explanation, Yu Fukun was stunned for a long time, "Then..., shall we accept Zheng Zhilong's kindness?"

"Of course I accept!" Qi Tian said, "Even if Zheng Zhilong stuffs a thousand spies into the immigration, we can still swallow him and digest him well!"

What kind of system is our Hanzhou? The regime not only sank to the villages, but also established a village soldier system and police system.After another year or two, the training of a large number of grassroots officials will be completed, and we will also establish a strict household registration and Baojia system.

Anyone who wants to join forces, or even think about overthrowing the Hanzhou local regime, will be strangled in the bud by the well-organized social system in the first place.

"We can't let Zheng Zhilong control all the refugees from all over the place. We must have our own people in Daming to do this. Also, the source of immigrants in the future can no longer be limited to one place."

At present, Hanzhou has a population of more than 7000, and Huaibei immigrants have more than 5000, accounting for more than [-]%.This will cause certain difficulties for later personnel management, and it will easily lead to regional disputes.

The top ruling class is almost all Shandong people, and most of the sailors are Guangdong Dan people. Although the only land armed force in Hanzhou - the Marine Corps, has a considerable number of Huaibei people, the officers at all levels are from Shandong. people.

Now, all Hanzhou people are still in the stage of food and clothing. At the same time, the vast majority of immigrants are displaced and hungry people, who have no concept of power.

However, as a member of the ruling class, Qi Tian still wants to take precautions and eliminate possible disputes in the future.

With the increase in population and the continuous arrival of expected immigrants in the future, the development of new settlements has been put on the planning agenda.

"The inland is vast, why expand to the east coast?"

Cao Xiong returned to Jianye City at the end of September.In August, he led the "Pioneer" together with the Dutch fleet to repel two sea aids from the Kingdom of Aceh, sinking and damaging more than [-] large and small ships.

By the beginning of September, the Dutch East India Company had transported two batches of supplies and personnel to Jetshui Bay to consolidate and strengthen the defense of this new occupation point.At this point, the Dutch finally established a stable colonial point on the south side of the Strait of Malacca, which greatly improved the safety of the Dutch East India Company's routes to and from the Far East.

Under such circumstances, Cao Xiong pulled a boat full of spoils and returned to Hanzhou via Batavia and Xinxiangbao.

"Uncle, Uncle Kun, although the inland is vast, the land is barren. It takes more than ten years of continuous investment to support more people. The eastern and southeastern parts of Hanzhou have a mild climate and fertile land, enough to support millions of people. .More importantly, we have controlled the northern and northeastern parts of Hanzhou, so the entire eastern and southeastern coasts are safe places to prevent the enemy from encroaching on a large scale."

"Of course, the large-scale development of the eastern coast is still beyond our capabilities. But now, we must establish a number of supply points in advance and develop towards the eastern coast step by step. Only in the next few years will we occupy and develop the rich land along the eastern coast, Only then will we have the foundation for the development of a great country!"

Cao Xiong and Yu Fukun were shocked by the statement that Qi Tian was a "big country".Hanzhou currently has only tens of thousands of people, only three cities, and does not even have a decent naval fleet. How dare it dream of becoming a "big country".

However, after more than a year of development, Hanzhou has established many basic industries, can manufacture guns and cannons, and can also produce fast transport ships of less than [-] tons. The coastal defense fortress is gradually being improved.

The previously envisioned three-year self-insurance and five-year start-up development goals will basically be realized now.Then, the "big country" may not be impossible to achieve in the near future!
"Xiaotian, are you afraid that the eastern part of Hanzhou will be occupied by others?" Cao Xiong asked with a smile.

Qi Tian nodded, "I also have this kind of consideration. Now, the Dutch must know our exact location. What if one day they suddenly want to intervene in Hanzhou? We occupy the Jianye City area. Yes. But Hanzhou is vast, especially along the east coast, and the climate and environment are much better than Jianye City. If it is occupied by the Dutch, it will definitely be an obstacle to our future development and growth."

Qi Tian remembered that the Dutch East India Company once sent ships to explore the whole of Australia.They first discovered and described the coastline of western Australia, and then in 1642 and 1644, Abel Tasman was dispatched twice by the governors of the Netherlands and India, and successively discovered Tasmania and "New Zealand", as well as northern Australia. The 3500-kilometer-long coast proved that "New Netherland" is a unified and complete continent. The south, west, and north sides of the "Southern Continent" have basically been explored clearly, and the eastern coast is still a mystery.

In 1770, the British navigator James Cook was sent by the British government to explore Oceania.He discovered a piece of land near 38° south latitude, that is, the eastern coast of Australia.

Later, a cape and a small archipelago were seen at 10°5' south latitude, named Cape York and York Islands.He discovered the wide Torres Strait beyond the York Islands, which leads westward to the sea.This proves that the coast that Cook's fleet passes is the eastern coast of Australia, and Cape York is the northern tip of Australia.

Cook's expedition voyage found out the direction of the eastern coast of Australia, verified the existence of the Torres Strait, and proved that New Guinea is a large bay.In this way, the relatively clear coastline in the east and the western coast of Australia discovered by the Dutch at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century combined into a basically complete continental outline, thus proving the real existence of the southern continent-Australia.

However, a group of Ming people such as Cao Xiong and Qi Tian established a colony in northern Australia in advance, and immigrated here in large numbers.Then, will the small wings of the butterfly also flap twice in advance to divert the attention of the Dutch to the continent of Hanzhou?

Although the Dutch focus on business and are not interested in the relatively desolate environment on the Hanzhou continent, it is not ruled out that they will turn to establish one or several colonies in Hanzhou in order to curb the development of Cao Xiong and Qitian forces. .

Therefore, Hanzhou must gradually expand to the livable area to the east, so as not to give the newcomers a place to plug in.

"Why not develop to the west of Hanzhou?" Qi Dajiang asked in a low voice.

"The west is desert and sand." Qi Tian said.Although he knew that there were rich deposits of iron, coal, gold and other minerals in the west of Hanzhou, but for now, the coal, iron and other minerals near Heishan City and New Huai'an were enough for the development of Hanzhou.

In addition, in the valley southwest of Heishan City, the Hanzhou prospecting team discovered a gold mine with rich reserves.Qi Tian immediately arranged for more than [-] township soldiers to be stationed, and blocked the entire valley to ensure that the news of the gold mine would not spread.

(End of this chapter)