Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1089 Fresh Blood ([-])

It was already 1656, and the Huangyang River (Santa Cruz River) basin officially entered the midsummer season of the year. The deer herds, guanacos, pikas, foxes, ostriches, and American Leopards and other animals also ushered in the hottest month of the year—of course, the average daily temperature in this so-called hot month is only 14 degrees, which means that the temperature at noon is only [-] to [-] degrees, while the temperature at night may be The drop to a few degrees, the large temperature difference between day and night, and the small annual accumulated temperature made Yang Mingyang, who is in charge of the development of the nearby area, decisively give up the unrealistic wheat planting, and instead seek some short-growing season barley, rye, potato or alfalfa planting.He is even thinking about whether to completely abandon the local planting industry and devote all his energy to the development of fishery and animal husbandry. As for the grains that people need in their daily lives, it is better to import them from the local area or the southern railway subsidiary. This may be more economical. , more cost-effective.

……

A sound of horseshoes broke the peaceful morning in the mountains. Although Yang Mingyang, who has served as the captain of the cavalry regiment in the Far East for many years, is over fifty years old, his galloping posture still looks very vigorous.No, in the action of destroying an Indian tribe just now, he personally charged and obtained the first-level result of beheading, which made some young soldiers who failed to achieve it feel ashamed.

"Take it!" After Yang Mingyang turned over and got off his horse, he threw the whip to the guard behind him, then walked quickly to the bank of the Huangyang River, scooped up a handful of clear river water, washed his face, and wiped his face with a towel after washing. The blood splattered on the cowhide riding boots, turned around and said to everyone: "Take a break, the guards are assigned, don't get out of the basket."

The knights behind them agreed one after another, then got off their horses and distributed work according to their duties. Everything was in order.Most of the [-] or [-] cavalry come from the local area, and the composition is complex: there are members of the Shandong Mule Army, some local bandits from the Yuyuan Army, veterans from Polish prisoners of war, and of course the newly recruited new generation who can ride horses People from the East Coast—mostly come from Qiuyi Township, Yangma Township and other places in Meilin County.

These people have been out following Yang Mingyang for several days, following a tribe of natives who had attacked the people on the east bank all the way, and spotted this migrating tribe nearly a hundred kilometers deep into the upper reaches of the Huangyang River.What followed was a bloody encounter. Although this Indian tribe was tough and durable, they had no choice but to hunt for a living. Their equipment was too poor. They were quickly defeated by hundreds of cavalry from the east coast. Became another group of unlucky people in this world of the weak and the strong. Of course, the people on the east coast did not kill them all. They sent fifty or sixty cavalry to stay at the scene to supervise the more than three hundred Indians, men, women and children who had been terrified of being killed. Slowly heading to the settlements on the east bank of the mouth of the Huangyang River, they will be exiled collectively to New China or Australia, where they will start their new lives. This is their only way out.

The section of the lower reaches of the Huangyang River is navigable, but the current is relatively turbulent, and it is completely impossible for sailboats to sail (when people in later generations inspected here, the boats can only move forward by pulling fibers), but for the 72-ton small steamer that is popular in the east bank In other words, it is not a problem at all. This kind of inland watercraft with a low draft can easily sail far upstream, which means that people on the east coast can go deep into the interior of the Patagonian platform at a relatively low cost. Area - In the 19th century, when Darwin and others went deep into the Santa Cruz River for investigation, they took three whaling ships and sailed to a place 140 miles away from the Atlantic Ocean and 60 miles away from the nearest Pacific Gulf. 10 nautical miles per hour) and the surrounding environment is too desolate (meaning that there is not much research value) so I gave up moving on.

In fact, their location at that time was quite close to the source of the river, Argentine Lake, but according to what happened to Darwin and others at the time, the river flow rate of up to 10 knots was indeed a big problem (the water volume of the Santa Cruz River was extremely high. Plenty), it was impossible (and still extremely dangerous) for non-powerful ships in Argentina in later generations to swim upstream.People on the east coast want to use small steamboats on the river to drive directly to the Argentine Lake area. I am afraid that while sending dredgers to dredge the river, they must also find a way to design a boat with a speed of at least 12 knots in still water, otherwise they will be honest. Build roads or railways on the ground.

Both sides of the Huangyang River are stepped highlands, and the ground is covered with weeds and thorny shrubs, which made Yang Mingyang scratch his head.The highlands on both sides of the river mean that the water source cannot be used effectively to irrigate the cultivated land, and if the vegetation is dominated by low thorny shrubs, it is not suitable for large-scale grazing of cattle. Animals that eat twigs and shoots - only sheep have this ability.

"It seems that you can only engage in animal husbandry, and you can only raise sheep." Yang Mingyang looked at the turbulent river—the river was light blue, with a lot of milky white foam on the surface, which meant that Looking at the extremely fast flow——thinking with some depression: "Just like most rivers in Patagonia, the Huangyang River runs through the deep valley riverbed among the basalt cliffs, high hills, and hillsides, which means that the big river Most of the areas on both sides of the strait cannot be used, which is too difficult to carry water for irrigation. This area is still only suitable for grazing, what a pity, what a pity, there is no shortage of water here, what a pity!"

The terraces outside the valley are full of weeds and shrubs growing on the ground, and the density is not low.Even in summer, these plants are mostly brown or withered yellow, intertwined with the surrounding environment, making people feel monotonous and drowsy at a glance.However, there are quite a lot of animals here. Carnivorous foxes, jackals, and pumas can often be seen. There are also some vultures and rock parrots living on the cliffs on both sides of the river. The occasional "Marlin" (that is, the ancient river bed, Generally more humid) there are also ostriches, guanacos or deer that come to lick rock salt.

"No wonder it can support so many natives who live by hunting!" Yang Mingyang thought to himself.Although he didn't know which race the Indian tribe he defeated this time should belong to—although they were strong and tall, they were obviously not as tall as the Patagonians, but they were stronger than the nomadic Tehuelche people in the north. They are taller and stronger, and their lifestyles are different-but he estimates that in the entire Patagonia region, the total population of the scattered native tribes is only tens of thousands. The people on the east bank seem to be worthless. As long as you have the heart, it is a matter of minutes to exterminate them, but it is not necessary for the time being.

"When I go back, I will talk to the people from the Northwest Reclamation Bank and ask them to send the sheep down as soon as possible. Since the first batch of 500 people landed in the local area, another 3.2 fresh blood have come one after another. They are always asked to repair houses, dig It’s not a big deal to build a ditch, build a reservoir, or build a factory building. It’s better to get the sheep over early, and then divide the range of their pastures, so that they can make their own living as soon as possible.” Yang Mingyang wiped the blood-stained saber with a clean white cloth. , while thinking about things: "The port of the mall has been open for a while, and I heard that the business is still so-so. There are many La Plata merchants who come to sell cattle, sheep, horses, donkeys, camels and other livestock, and the transaction volume is also increasing day by day. Last time I bought the first batch of 20 sheep and allocated them to Mayor Cai in the Chubut River. After all, the conditions there are better. It’s been a while since I bought them There are a lot of sheep, so I have to find a way to urge the people in the Northwest Reclamation Bank to complete the formalities early and lend them to the farmers. It is estimated that the transportation capacity is not too sufficient, and tens of thousands of sheep can be bought at most only a dozen or [-] yuan It's not very expensive, but the shipping fee is really not cheap. If you use your own shipping, the shipping capacity is not enough. It's really depressing to think about it. Also, the breeding station of the Ministry of Agriculture in Muchang Township has to send someone to remind you Urge, let them send some of the shepherd dogs they have bred, otherwise these sheep will be troublesome enough to rely on people to herd them - of course, the size of the sheep flock is still small, and there is no urgent need in a short time..."

After resting, everyone ate some dry food with broth (dried beef that had been stored for a long time), then got on their horses one after another, and galloped along the platform on the north bank of the river in the direction of Huangyanggang.At this moment, the sun was scorching, but it was not very hot, and the air was so clear and transparent that everyone sang the war song of victory and return, and soon returned to the settlement - they were at a place called Ximendu on the north bank of the Huangyang River (located in later generations) The town of Piedrabuena, more than 30 kilometers upstream from Santa Cruz Puerto, is also a place where settlements are about to be established) crossed the raging river in batches-and was warmly welcomed by the residents who stayed behind.

On the wharf of Huangyang Port, there is also a sailboat stranded on the river waiting to unload (since the wharf has not yet been fully built, unloading can only be carried out during the few hours when the ship was stranded). There are various materials, some camels, and There are 15 Sakarawa slave girls sent from Xinhua Island.Most of these Sakarawa people were captured during the pursuit of Xiao Baitu's army. They were generally between 35 and [-] years old, and many of them were even the so-called "noble daughters" of the Manab Kingdom. They were packaged and sent to Patagonia, which can be called a bird's shit. Most of these women must be disappointed.

Fortunately, they already live in the tropical semi-arid grassland area, and they are very familiar with how to live in this kind of place, so they should be able to adapt quickly after being assigned, and this is actually the special approval of the executive committee (Xinhua Xia Ma The reason why the female slaves need special approval from the executive committee every time they enter the mainland) and send them to settle in Huangyanggang—not only to balance the high proportion of young and middle-aged single males, but also because they are indeed a A good hand, when in the Daqing Basin, it needs to graze, farm, take care of children and do housework. It is simply an all-rounder, and it is more than enough to match those Italians.

(End of this chapter)