1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 560
On January 1646, 1 (December 28 in the lunar calendar), Hanzhou, Daxing City (now Brisbane, Australia).

For the residents of Daxing City, a newly emerging small city in the east of Hanzhou, the greatest happiness is that every time a whaling ship comes to Hong Kong to anchor and unload huge whales.Except that part of the whale meat will be transported to the cannery in the north of the city for further processing, the rest of the whale meat will be sold locally at the pier.

Although the whale meat smells a little fishy, ​​the taste is not as delicate and tender as the ordinary fish in the sea, and it still has a bit of bite, a bit like beef.However, when cooking, sprinkle some spices, it is also a bit delicious.More importantly, this whale meat is cheap, and you can cut a large piece for a few cents.Take it home, marinate it with salt, enough to eat for a while.This made those immigrants who could not eat meat all year round really happy.

The Daxing area, which was established for more than three years, now has a population of more than 3 people, three official counties, twelve official towns, and dozens of settlements. Coupled with the superiority of the climate and geographical conditions here, its development will be leaps and bounds.By next year, when the population of this area reaches more than [-], it will also become the fourth administrative region of Qi State.

As one of Qitian's most important and trusted people, Qi Yuanshan has formulated an ambitious development plan for the Daxing area.It is planned to transplant and copy all the light industry categories owned by Jianye Mansion within five years, and rebuild a light industry base in the eastern part of Hanzhou, laying a solid foundation for realizing the so-called industrialization of Hanzhou in Qitian's dream.

In fact, in the normal historical development path, the industrialization of any country, or the origin and development of any country's industry starts with light industry.As the source of raw materials and technological foundation of heavy industry, light industry can lay a solid material and social production management foundation for the enterprise management and social production effectiveness of heavy industry and the long-term development of heavy industry, which cannot be ignored by any country or region.

If this stage is passed, although the heavy industry can achieve rapid development in a short period of time, just like the Soviet Union in the later generations, it is difficult for such a country to ensure that the development of light industry can be compensated as in the normal historical development state, and it can only enter a vicious state in the end. cycle.Use the weaker and weaker light industry to subsidize the heavy industry that is more and more like the end of its strength.Leading to the collapse and split of the entire national industrial system.

However, the development of Hanzhou's industry is a bit different. In order to achieve self-protection in Hanzhou, it directly started to make steel, develop mining and some primary military industries.After defeating the Spanish invasion, it won the favor of Chinese businessmen in Batavia and some investment from them, and then began to establish a light industry (or handicraft industry, which is more appropriate) that involves a lot of people's livelihood.

Then, when they attacked Spain in Luzon together with the Dutch East India Company, they accidentally obtained many shipwrights from the Spanish Cavite shipyard, and then started their own shipbuilding industry, and around the shipbuilding industry, another branch of the shipbuilding industry was derived. A series of auxiliary industries such as wood processing, rigging, wooden barrels, and sails.

In December 1641, at the end of the Han-Dutch War, the great internationalist Mr. Cornett Ludwild provided Hanzhou with a package of industrial development technology and talents, which made Hanzhou immediately obtain the most advanced shipbuilding industry of the Dutch , wool textile industry, agricultural product processing, whaling industry, tanning industry, beer brewing industry and several other light industries.

Coupled with the sugar industry, ceramics industry, wine making industry, food processing industry, paper printing industry, hardware manufacturing, and the most important textile industry developed locally in Hanzhou, the small Hanzhou has developed rapidly in a short period of time. Established a series of light industry categories.

Ten years of immigration continued to absorb various handicraft craftsmen and artists from Ming Dynasty, and spontaneously formed many foundations such as hat-making workers, shoemakers, leather makers, saddle makers, tailors, masons, porcelain makers, etc. Manufacturing industry has also sprung up in various regions in recent years.From the perspective of later generations, these industries have already withdrawn from the stage of history, but in the middle of the 17th century, these things can be regarded as a very advanced light industrial system.

In addition, the development of iron and steel, the primary heavy industry that Hanzhou is proud of, has also made great progress.Last year (1645), Qi’s iron and steel output reached more than 8500 tons, of which more than 2100 tons of steel were produced. , Qi's steel production in the next few years will enter a stage of leapfrog development.

As far as the development history of human civilization is concerned, the amount of steel at that time directly determined a country's industrial foundation and industrial development potential, and the importance of steel at that time was far greater than that at present.The entire iron and steel industry covers mineral mining and dressing of metal iron, chromium, manganese, etc., ironmaking industry, steelmaking industry, steel processing industry, ferroalloy smelting industry, iron wire and its products industry and many other sub-sectors.

In addition, iron and steel production also involves some other industrial categories such as non-metallic mineral mining and products, such as coal coking, refractory materials, and carbon products.

Although the current overall iron and steel industry in Hanzhou is completely backward in production capacity, high consumption, high pollution, and low output from the perspective of future generations, but in this period, its technological level is faintly ahead of all European countries (at that time Ming North Korea’s iron and steel smelting technology and production far surpassed that of Europe), and in the Southeast Asia region, it even beat all the Tubang kingdoms and the East India Company.

Of course, relying on the poor basic industries and weak savings in the Daxing area, it is not enough to establish those majestic heavy industries such as iron and steel metallurgy.Therefore, Qi Yuanshan made every effort to develop various local handicraft industries and light industries related to people's livelihood. He not only provided more preferential policies and financial support to businessmen from Batavia and Jianye Mansion, but also provided support to those who established factories and workshops. Individual craftsmen and artists also provide a series of financial and material support.

Although the southeast of Hanzhou is still remote and needs to be developed, it will become the essence of Qi in the future.The Daxing area is located in the core of the southeast, with Weihai and Yunyang in the north and Linzi (now Sydney, Australia, a settlement established in 1643) in the south. It has rich natural and agricultural resources, a suitable climate, and sufficient water. , the end is a geomantic treasure, and the future development can be expected.

If Qitian can be persuaded to build his future capital here, it will definitely accelerate the development and prosperity of the Daxing area.Of course, all the premise is to have enough people to fill this elite area and lay the foundation for the rise of Qi.

However, as the state of Qi continued to open up new settlements in the eastern part of Hanzhou and gradually extended its sphere of influence to the Linzi area of ​​Hanzhou, various problems also arose.The most deadly of these is that the supporting medical and health services cannot cover the newly opened areas in a timely manner, so that the deaths of irregular immigrants due to various acclimatization and diseases that cannot be treated in time have begun to increase.

A cold and fever, or drinking unclean water, or even accidentally getting a small wound when reclaiming land and building a house, because there are not enough medical and health resources, delaying the initial treatment, will cause some immigrants to die abnormally.In view of this, the Qi State Immigration Department began to slow down the expansion plans of various places, and instead began to consolidate and consolidate the development of existing strongholds, speed up the construction of various infrastructures including medical and health care, and improve the production and living environment of immigrants. .

In addition to the lack of medical care and sanitation, in many newly opened places, women are the most in short supply.Although the Qi State's immigrant fleet will try to increase the ratio of men to women when collecting immigrants in Ming Dynasty, it still has not reached a 1:1 ratio.

Although Qi State worked hard in North Korea, Japan, Annan, Nanyang and other regions through various methods such as looting, purchasing, and trading, many young women were transported back.But there were too many debts in the past, and the number of bachelors was also too large.Annual population statistics show that the ratio of men to women in Hanzhou is generally maintained at 135:100, which means that among the current population of 20 in Qi, there are at least 3 men who cannot marry a wife.

The imbalance in the ratio of men to women in Qi State is also a big hidden danger to the stability of society.According to the report of the patrol police department in Daxing area, many immigrants from remote areas, relying on force, rushed into the camps of indigenous tribes in small groups, kidnapped women and committed adultery, which caused many indigenous riots The rebellion incidents were so exhausting that the rotating township soldiers from all over the country had to use weapons to suppress them, which really killed and injured many aborigines.

For this reason, other prefectures, counties and administrative districts in the Qi State, including the Daxing area, have continuously issued prohibition orders. People under their jurisdiction must not innocently violate indigenous women, let alone accept indigenous women as wives in private. Violators will be sent to the mines for several months. In severe cases, they will be exiled to the remote areas of Weiyuan Island.

However, relying on means such as punishment of hard labor and exile cannot prevent the occurrence of all kinds of ugly incidents of aboriginal (native women) violations, and officials in various regions often turn a blind eye to such things, and they are more conniving favoritism.As long as you don't make things too big and make people complain, they will often be covered up by lower-level officials and subordinates.

However, this lack of women must be resolved to a certain extent. It not only involves the reproduction and growth of the Hanzhou population, but also extends to the shaping of social ethics and civilization. It will also affect the future blood and blood of Hanzhou. Genes will inevitably attract the attention of Qi State.

(End of this chapter)