Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1066 Dust Settled ([-])

"After the boundary survey is completed, this matter will be settled." On May 1655, 5, after sending Baron Raul Bravo away, Mo San also planned to leave, but before leaving, he deliberately found Meng Hu, who was in charge of the specific affairs of the demarcation, came and said: "Research the demarcation well, and check the local products and climate by the way."

"No problem." Meng Hu shook hands with Mo San, and then said, "Wang Dali is better than me at border surveying. He will come forward to measure and map with the Spaniards, and he will also hire an entire army company and a few Gao Qiaos." The cavalry is accompanying, and nothing will happen. The Tehuelche people here are not so courageous. Moreover, I guess the Spaniards are not very patient. It’s just a show, a formality, and the Spaniards will probably go home after receiving the map.”

"That way I can rest assured." Mo San turned and stepped onto the deck of the "Explorer", then waved to Meng Hu and said, "There are some staff members from other ministries and commissions staying to assist you, take them well, I will I'm leaving."

"Goodbye." Meng Hu lit a pipe for himself, and stopped looking at the boat that gradually began to raise its sails, but turned his gaze to the sea next to him.Fresh air, vast ocean, and mild climate, how suitable it is for a desert trek!Whales and seals cruising in the sea, albatrosses and petrels flying in the blue sky, and Andean vultures swooping down from the sky from time to time, these are Meng Hu's favorites—well, well, before that, he has to complete himself first. work.

"Where did that former Dashun Army general Cai Huaze go?" Meng Hu wandered slowly on the soft gravel of the Valdez Peninsula, asking casually.There are many coarse gravels in the soil under the feet, which seems to be not completely weathered, which may be related to the relatively dry local climate-gravels of different thicknesses, brown or gray soil, yellow but tough grass, low and much Prickly shrubs and occasional natural groves complete the monotony of this endless wasteland.

"Captain, Lieutenant Cai Huaze is now the first-class staff officer of the Ministry of War. He is currently leading a group of people to set up settlements near the mouth of the Chubut River. They also arrived there at the beginning of this month. I heard that they were arrested within a few days. There was an attack by the nomadic Tehuelche tribe, and more than a dozen Italian laborers who were digging ditches were killed or injured. Now, they are probably actively building fortifications to prepare for the next enemy attack, so they should be very busy." As soon as Meng Hu finished speaking, a follower answered immediately.

"So miserable? But he was lucky enough before. Wouldn't it make people mad with envy? Hehe, some people have many children in their families, but they can only have one seat of the National People's Congress inheriting from their parents. Cai Huaze, a lucky Ming I don’t know how hated it is. It’s a good thing for him to go to a wild place like the Chubut River to open up wasteland now, at least it’s far away from the right and wrong place in the mainland.” Meng Hu chuckled and whispered to himself .

Today's weather is dry and sunny, the wind is not too strong, the blue sky is so clear and transparent that not even a cloud can be seen.Who Said Patagonia Was Bad?Meng Hu felt a little disdainful. The weather was much better than the rainy, humid and cold east coast. People could stroll along the coast full of seals and penguins in autumn clothes, listening to the soft sound of waves, and seeing a vast expanse of open water in front of them. The vast terraces full of wild flowers, and a little further away, there are even herds of guanacos and deer, and of course there are horses and cattle that have rewilded after escaping from the Spaniards.Patagonia, it's really not that bad!

However, the natives here are indeed worthy of vigilance, because they seem to have a grumpy temper, and they are not friendly. The dozen or so Italian laborers who were killed or injured have already reminded everyone: If you want to gain a foothold here, you may not be able to gain a foothold. It's not that easy.In fact, what Menghu didn't know was that the native Indians here in later generations were indeed not good at stubble. Back then, the Spaniards also tried to establish a settlement near San Jose Bay (that is, the bay surrounded by land on the northern side of the Valdez Peninsula).But on a Sunday, the nearby Tehuelche people launched a surprise attack. Except for two people who survived and were captured, the rest of the local colonists were slaughtered. This shows the ferocity and determination of the natives.

Of course, the armed reclamation system of the people on the east bank has been very perfect up to now: forts, patrols, sentries, and trained militias. These militarized and organized pioneering and reclamation activities are not cheap in terms of cost. , but it is the best way to deal with barbarian raids.What's more, the settlements of the people on the east coast at the mouth of the lower reaches of the Chubut River are backed by the sea, and supplies are extremely convenient. This is extremely critical for their long-term persistence. It may not be possible to drive out this group of armed immigrants whose number is no more than four or five hundred.

"Forget it, it's none of my business that the Chubut River is too peaceful, I just finish the work at hand." Meng Hu shook his head, then turned to his subordinates and said: "Mule and horse team Take good care of them and let those gauchos serve snacks. Dali has already led people to look for water sources? Well, yes, there are many salt water and brackish water rivers here, and even some rivers are sometimes fresh water and sometimes salt water. I need to find it and mark it. Yes, bring me all the information, I have to study the route, and also, send some wine to the Spaniards, after all, they will be 'involved' with us in the next few days .”

In the afternoon, Wang Dali came back with his people, and he told Menghu that some fresh water could be found seven or eight kilometers away from here in the northwest, and there was some vegetation there, unlike where they landed, the wasteland was full of weeds, Wildflowers, shrubs, and cacti, like the drab and yellow landscape of the South African wilderness, are clearly in poor places, not even suitable for settlement.Of course, Meng Hu was very happy with the news brought by Wang Dali. After carefully looking at the map they drew, Meng Hu told them to move to this place in the afternoon and lay a stone tablet, planning to set up a settlement and port here in the future.

On May 5, at the urging of the Spaniards, a group of mules and horses left this place named Green Port on the map (located in the port of Piramides on the Valdes Peninsula in later generations, because there is a green After the future settlement of the forest), this huge team of more than 24 people began to turn to the northwest, and arrived near the 5nd parallel south latitude on the evening of May 26. After many calculations, they selected a points, and then draw a map and lay boundary markers.

After finishing the matter, the team found a freshwater stream in the nearby swamp area and camped nearby.It was quite cold at 42 degrees south latitude in late autumn, especially in the morning and evening, and everyone in the boundary survey team had to wear leather clothes to keep out the cold.The accompanying gauchos went outside to hunt a few guanacos for dinner. These animals are everywhere in the nearby fields. They are not very afraid of people. They fight and bite each other in the mud all day long, and they can also drink salt water. It is difficult for people to understand; in addition, they also picked up a lot of guanaco dung and used it as fuel. A herd of dozens of guanacos will often pull the dung in the same place for many days. It is a strange habit, but it is very special The Welches provided the fuel for the fires, and of course the East Coasters are now starting fires with these "disgusting things" to save precious briquettes.

On the second day, the whole team set off again to the west, and after traveling ten kilometers, they encountered a vast swamp area, which was very exciting.Wang Dali led people around the neighborhood for several days, "tasting" the water of every small stream and pond carefully, and then marked the fresh water and salt water respectively, inserted wooden signs, and drew a picture The map (of course, this kind of map marked with water sources will not be handed over to the Spaniards), which made the faces of the accompanying Spaniards a little blue-maybe they thought it was a semi-arid desert grassland, but now it seems that Guanacos and deer herds abound, Patagonian guinea pigs, foxes, and jaguars can be seen everywhere. Although fresh water sources are not available everywhere, as long as they are willing to look for them, there is absolutely no shortage, which makes them feel bad.

On May 5, after laying several boundary pillars, the whole team began to zigzag along a dry riverbed.There are sand dunes, rock walls, and plains on both sides of the river bed. In some places, there are some sparse forests, but most of the scenery is monotonous grasslands and shrubs.The Gauchos hired by the people on the east coast said that these rivers must have had a lot of water after the snow melted in spring, but now it is the dry season, and the rivers have dried up, and only some water is still flowing intermittently in the center of the riverbed.Meng Hu felt that what he said was right, because the soil on both sides of the river was obviously not that kind of coarse gravel, but relatively fine and arable soil rich in organic matter, which was also carefully recorded.

After continuing westward for a few days, the Patagonian plateau, which has entered winter, gave everyone a disarming surprise-a sudden snowfall caught everyone by surprise, and some people fell ill as the temperature dropped, but they did not. Quan stopped to rest and could only continue to follow the team, survey, map, and lay boundary pillars.

In mid-June 1655, the entire team had penetrated more than 6 kilometers westward.Although they didn’t encounter the legendary and vicious Tehuelche people, their situation was still very difficult: Although they hunted a lot of guanacos and deer along the way, everyone’s food reserves were still inevitably dwindling, especially those who kept out the cold. Hezhong Daqu has been sold out for several days.But now they are getting closer and closer to the Andes, and the climate is colder and wetter. The dryness of the eastern coast has almost been wiped out. It is common for snow to fall for two days in a row. The more, even the Spaniards couldn't hold on anymore, and they kept suggesting that Menghu would end the border survey as soon as possible, for which they could cooperate.

Meng Hu considered the actual situation of the next team, and finally agreed to go back home, which also means that the matter of the border demarcation has been settled so far, and the southern territories of the East Coast Republic of China (no one thinks that these lands will be in the future returned to the Spaniards) encompassed the entire Southern Cone almost at once.After the dust settled in the south, the East Coast and Portugal in the northern Gerard Mountains competed with each other. At this time, the East Coast people gradually gained the upper hand.

(End of this chapter)