Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1242 Terrace ([-])

"My great-grandfather and great-grandmother had sex on a big bed made of South American fir, and then my grandfather was born. He dedicated his life to that magnificent land." Many years later, Ma Wenqiang's great-great-grandson said quietly Sitting in a wheelchair, the aging man wrote in his memoirs.

Let us go back in time to the glorious years of the 17th century. On February 1660, 2, when more than 10 settlers of the Golden Castle officially came here to open up the first anniversary, Ma Wenqiang rode a Raschek horse that was good at walking in the mountains. , Surrounded by his entourage, he came to the eastern foot of the Andes, west of the Jincheng Valley.

As described in the geography books of later generations of Argentina: "The main mountain passes in the southern section of the Andes (generally referring to the south of Neuquen Province) are adjacent to the fertile plains on our side, and some border villages and towns have appeared in these places... Some mountain passes lead to neighboring Chile, with a height of only a few hundred meters, such as the famous Cochamo Pass, which is only 400 meters above sea level and connects the Manso River to the Pacific Ocean. Before the mountain is blocked by heavy snow in winter, the communication with Chile is very convenient.”

This will be the hot summer time, and the hundreds of mountain passes connected to Chile will naturally not be in danger of being blocked by heavy snow (the Andes have more precipitation in winter, and most of them are in the form of snowfall), on the contrary, the snow in the mountains melts a lot Finally, a series of lakes were filled, and when these lakes could not hold so much meltwater, the water overflowed on both sides along the passing rivers, passing through forests, farmland, grasslands, deserts, and finally Disappearing in the vast Patagonian wasteland on the east side, and disappearing in the vast Pacific Ocean on the west side.

It has to be said that the huge number of water-passing lakes in the Andes greatly eased the surge of the river, and at the same time played a role in clarifying the river, because a large number of suspended sediments in the upstream river were deposited in the lakes.Correspondingly, the river meandering out to both sides is a glacial river with very little suspended sediment, so its channel is wide and deep, and the water volume in the upstream is very large, which brings great difficulties to agricultural production. Great convenience.

It is a pity that most of the overflow water of the nearby lakes centered on Jincheng Lake (Futaloufken Lake) flows into the Pacific Ocean through the rich Futaleufu River, and only a small amount of overflow water passes through seasonal rivers. It flows into the east side, moistening countless lands, forests and grasslands on both sides.Of course, in the mountainous area with abundant rainfall and lakes and puddles everywhere, it is a joy to have these rivers, but it doesn’t matter if they don’t. People on the east coast don’t know how to dig reservoirs and canals?You know, there is no shortage of water here!

"Here and the platform desert are simply two worlds." It is not the first time Ma Wenqiang has been here, but every time he is shocked by the majestic peaks, bright lakes and dense forests.

A few entourages went down to collect firewood, pine nuts and delicious Araucaria fruits under the command of the leader, while he was sitting in a place that looked like a wreckage of the camp—but in fact it was similar. Last year, Ma Wenqiang and others set up a weather station here. The observatory, located near the small town of Futaleufu in later generations, collects meteorological, hydrological, vegetation, soil and geological information while exploring through the Andes through the Jincheng River (Futaleufu River) into Chile Mountain passages in coastal areas - It is worth mentioning that this work has made gratifying progress.

It's just that when heavy snow falls in winter, the people living in the weather station—in fact, this weather station made of rough wood has not yet been completely completed—are afraid of being blocked by heavy snow, so they all fled back.They were indeed lucky, because not long after they left, heavy snow collapsed the weather station, which was still under construction.In this forgotten mountain area, sudden heavy snowfall and never-ending rain are the biggest worries for people. Of course, there are also many coveted wealth here, such as Langa beech, pine trees and the heart-stopping 50-meter-high Araucina fir The woods tell people all the time that there is no poverty here.

A hunter brought back a guanaco with a white body, whose skins are more popular in the native land.Sometimes in order for a noble lady to wear this kind of white camel skin waistcoat, it may be necessary to kill hundreds of these guanacos, which shows its value.Fortunately, they are not here to hunt, otherwise the cute guanacos and deer here will suffer a lot. The ruthless hunters will take their lives in an instant, and while getting food, they will add a few more to their pockets. silver coins.

"At the end of this month, there will be a team of mules and horses coming from Chile, and at the same time there will be more than 100 immigrants from the Huai'an Prefecture of the Qing Dynasty." Ma Wenqiang picked up a Nanmei fir fruit and said while eating: "The team of mules and horses is not small. There are a lot of materials we urgently need, well, they are all coordinated and supplied by the Southern Railway Company nearby. Their ships transport people and goods to Chai Teng Township (a newly established settlement with a population of less than 1000, which is based on potato planting, offshore fishing and Mainly grazing, located near the small town of Chaiteng in later generations), and then transported by mules and horses. The whole journey is in the lowlands of the valley, and it is not difficult to walk. There is even a section where you can even take a boat. If everything goes well, you can finish this winding The curved mountain road will only take about 15-20 days, and I think everyone knows what this means."

In fact, the people on the east coast explored and communicated with the two sides of the Andes Mountains many years ago.Whether it is the Ministry of Geology, the Ministry of War, or the Southern Railway Company, all kinds of teams have been sent to try to cross the mountain and reach the other side.Some of them failed, but many more succeeded and recorded invaluable climate, hydrology and traffic data.

And while exploring these mountain passages—there are hundreds of them south of Neuquén, most of them at extremely low altitudes—the people on the east coast are also interested in the passages in the northern part of the Andes, which are in the hands of the Spaniards. I am very envious, there are more mountain passages there, and it is easier to cross than the southern section.Don’t you see that the prosperous Tucuman, Jujuy, La Rioja, Cordoba and other areas in La Plata were founded by the colonists who crossed the Andes, and now they have become a central town with extremely prosperous agriculture and animal husbandry. It has a large population and exports a large amount of livestock, leather and tallow to the west of the Andes every year. At the same time, it also undertakes the supply and security guards along the way for the mules and horses transporting silver bullion to ensure that they can go to the port of Santa Fe to be loaded on the sea and shipped back to Cyprus. Willia.

When Ma Wenqiang led his people to explore the Jincheng Valley area the year before last, he had already had this idea in mind.Gein transported supplies from Hai'an Port to Jincheng Valley. The journey was long and usually took [-] to [-] days to arrive. Compared with the efficiency of taking the mountain channel from the Pacific side to the mountain channel in [-] days, it really did not have an advantage.Of course, from Hai'an County all the way to the west, there are many other settlements along the way. Large convoys or mules and horses can replenish these settlements one by one. This has some advantages over the mountain tunnels that can be called no man's land. In addition, this route can be used all year round, unlike the mountain tunnels that cannot be used once the mountains are closed by heavy snow in winter, so there are still many supply convoys coming to Jincheng Valley through Hai'an County.

However, who said that two paths cannot be parallelized?Ma Wenqiang directly asked the State Development Administration to coordinate with the Southern Railway Company to borrow some materials from them, and use the mule and horse team to transport them to the nearby Jincheng Valley through the mountain tunnels to maintain the operation and development here.

This reasonable request was quickly responded by the State Development Bureau, and it was immediately put into practice-the mule and horse team that will arrive at the Jincheng Valley at the end of this month (February) is the first in history to pass through the Chaiteng River Valley-yeah Erqiao Lake-Jincheng Valley The material supply team coming to Jincheng Valley is of great significance.After them, almost every month, a large team of mules and horses will arrive at the Jincheng Valley through this mountain road. Ma Wenqiang's shortage of materials and manpower will be quickly improved, and it has become possible to formally establish a county and expand outward. .

In order to make full use of this transportation route and shorten the itinerary of the mules and horses, Ma Wenqiang planned to build two new settlements near the weather observation station and the later Trevelin City, called Hexia Township and Jinhu Township respectively.The initial population of these two settlements does not need too much at all, and they can live on extensive animal husbandry—in any case, this area has been designated as a pasture—in addition to plant some fruits and vegetables, and everything will be fine if they can supply the mules and horses. They are not asked to do more.

Of course, the forest resources here are so rich, you can’t just ignore them. After all, the construction of various settlements requires a lot of wood—this is not like Hai’an County, where no one will transport cement, lime, and bricks to build your house. , everything needs to be raised on the spot - the establishment of a logging camp is inevitable, anyway, it can also provide residents with additional job opportunities to earn cash, why not do it?

Thinking that the development of this area of ​​Jincheng Valley will gradually speed up, Ma Wenqiang's heart is as sweet as eating honey. Career and achievement are always the eternal pursuit of men.Thinking about myself as a deputy director-level official now, when so many settlements in Jincheng Valley are completed and county-level administrative districts are established, it is also very common for him to be promoted to a director-level official and serve as the deputy county magistrate of Jincheng County , What a great achievement this would be for a man who is only [-] years old—Ma Wenqiang has now brought his wife and children to Jincheng Castle from Hai'an Port, and he is still very determined to contribute his talents to the construction of Jincheng Valley.

"Deputy Magistrate Ma, it is feasible to set up settlements in Hexia Township and Jinhu Township. But we need to guard against Indian attacks. To be honest, there are still many barbarians in and outside the mountains. There are also Araucans who sneaked over from the mountain to reclaim the wasteland, these are not good stubble, you must deal with them carefully.” A entourage wearing an old military uniform held up a binoculars and observed for a long time, and then said: “The barbarians here are different from The ones in the desert, they are more populous and more civilized, so they have to deal with it well. Our militia is still immature, the courage of the children is enough, but the fighting skills are lacking, especially in the wild Against experienced enemies — who often still have arquebuses, I don’t know where — I can’t just watch them die because I can’t emotionally accept that.”

"Everything will be arranged." Ma Wenqiang knelt down and washed his hands by a puddle of water, and said, "For the time being, we will not take the initiative to provoke these aborigines. We just need to hold on to the fort and maintain the communication line. When we are strong, we will settle accounts with these Indians. Believe me, this day is not too far away.”

"By the way, why don't you raise some trout in such clear water?" Ma Wenqiang said on a whim, pointing to the rushing Jincheng River.

"Deputy County Magistrate Ma, I'm afraid Jincheng River is not working. There is no other reason, but there are too few nutrients to support it." Some agricultural officials came forward and said helplessly.

"Then how did I hear that Commissioner Yang Mingyang succeeded in raising trout in some mountain lakes in the south?" Ma Wenqiang asked.

"Of course, some lakes are fine, and some lakes are not. We can't generalize. It depends on the nutrients in the lake. Of course, if you insist, Deputy County Mayor Ma, we can ask the Ministry of Agriculture to send more technical personnel to help us, but don't worry too much. Great hope. Well, if you import some cages and carry out artificial breeding in lakes, you can try it. These lakes are deep enough, wide in area, and the water temperature is low enough, which is suitable for the growth of trout. Chilean There are trout in many mountain lakes and rivers nearby, and I heard that Liu Ang Liu, president of the Southern Railway Company, often goes fishing there.” Ma Wenqiang was finally satisfied with what the agricultural official said, and he had already made up his mind to go back. After that, they sent people back to the local area for activities—it's a pity that the Jincheng Valley has not yet communicated with the outside world by wired telegram, and the communication is really inconvenient.

"The lumberyard should be set up as soon as possible, and it should be completed before winter. Our construction needs a lot of high-quality wood, but you should also pay attention to the replanting of saplings, so as not to make this mountain bare." Ma Wenqiang looked at the large pieces of wood. The South American fir forest told his subordinates: "Hexia Township will be an outpost in the future, and Jinhu Township can indeed be developed into an agricultural base. The soil quality there is very suitable for the growth of fruit trees and vegetables, and of course rye. I I can’t wait to see all this. You think, the village is surrounded by sheep, and the yard is full of carnations and roses; A garden of beautiful, delicious strawberries, neatly divided by apple and pear trees. Undoubtedly, this is a farmyard of incomparable abundance, a moving poem to the generosity of the All this will come true, believe me, as long as we continue to work and fight, dreams will come true. Work hard, gentlemen, for our cause and future!"

(End of this chapter)