Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 138 East Coastism ([-])

Since the first batch of residents settled in Ping’an Fort in November 1633, which set off a boom in the development of Ping’an Fort, after nearly two years of construction, Ping’an Fort is now a town with more than a thousand formal residents. Ranked among the top three (Chengguan Town, Dongfang County has a population of more than 11, and Dingyuan Township has a population of 5000).

According to the unwritten regulations of the central government, once the official residents of a certain stronghold exceed a thousand, the pioneering team system will be revoked.No, just at the beginning of this month, after the Ministry of Civil Affairs sent personnel to check and confirm the household registration form, it officially ended the system of Ping'an Fort's pioneering team, and Ping'an Fort was upgraded to Ping'an Town.As long as the population and economy of the coal mining area (with more than 800 official residents) in the upper reaches of the Meihe River reach a new level and be upgraded to a township; Formation will also be put on the agenda.

This is the second county-level administrative unit in the country. It would be a lie to say that the officials in Pinganbao are not interested.For example, for Qian Hao, the newly appointed mayor of Ping'an Town, once he becomes the county magistrate of Ping'an County, this qualification will be very important, and it will greatly promote his career development in the future.

In order to achieve this ambitious goal, Qian Hao and other officials of Ping An Fort launched a vigorous economic development campaign. He himself even went to the central government by boat every three days to ask for money, people, and supplies. A positive and vigorous spirit.

So when the inland river transport ship No. 10 of Yiyun arrived at the freight wharf of Pingan Iron and Steel Works in the early morning of October 27, what Shao Shude saw was a scene full of excitement.There is a large amount of iron ore and pig iron piled up on the freight wharf, which are purchased from outside; in addition to these, there is also a large amount of coal (mainly lignite).The workers of the iron and steel factory who had been waiting for a long time simply acted as dock workers after seeing the cargo ship approaching the port. They quickly unloaded the ship of iron ore and piled it up.

"Group Leader Shao, why are you here in person?" Since Qian Hao went to the central government to run supplies, Xu Wenxuan, the political assistant to the mayor of Ping'an Town, came to greet him instead.Faced with this rare opportunity to curry favor with senior officials at the "Ge Lao" level, especially since the two parties have had such a friendship, Xu Wenxuan would be a fool if he didn't take advantage of it.

"When the coal working group was disbanded, the city of Ping'anbao was only a few hundred meters around, with a population of only 500 people, and the economy was not improving. Apart from the few acres of vegetable fields opened up outside the city wall, there was a large area of ​​virgin forest. No Thinking that after two years, Ping'an Fort has changed a lot, not only has the urban area doubled, but the population has also doubled." Shao Shude looked at the surrounding open wharf yard and the completed Ping'an Iron and Steel Factory with great interest. , said with a smile: "Even the mouth of the Yakui River (Yakui River), which was still a dense forest, has allowed you to build so many factories. It's really exciting."

"Hehe, this is all because of the solid foundation laid by the old leader." Xu Wenxuan complimented, "Besides, the old leader is in the central government and has given great support to Ping'an Fort. Mr. Qian often mentioned this to me. Thousands of people in the fort have always been inexplicably grateful."

"You, don't play with me with these silly things." Shao Shude waved his hand, and said with a smile: "Ping'an Fort and the coal mining area were established when I was the leader of the coal working group. Very emotional, I don’t support who you support! Now I am very pleased to see that this place is developing so well. By the way, it is difficult to raise the output of the Changshanbao Iron Mine Area for a while. Pingan Iron and Steel Plant The time for formal production may be delayed. I see that you have also set up some graphite crucibles here, which is good, and you will start producing some steel to provide some scarce steel raw materials for some supporting factories around you.”

"Yes, that's what Master Qian meant." Xu Wenxuan echoed.Then he pointed to the several factory buildings next to the steel factory, and said: "Over there is the new state-owned No. [-] Machinery Factory. At present, it mainly manufactures some simple lathes and various machine parts. Move over here. There is also a strange boiler workshop in this factory. I heard that a steam engine research and development department was established. A while ago, a batch of samples were trial-produced and sent to various places for trial use. Unfortunately, the local one exploded during the trial process. Yes, two workers died. At present, there is a temporary suspension of work, saying that it will continue to study and improve. In addition to this machinery factory, the central government has approved the transfer of some technicians and craftsmen from the Dayuhe Arsenal to build here. A larger arsenal—the state-owned northern arsenal, will start construction early next year.”

"Well, after squatting in the valley of Changshan Fort for a year, I didn't expect this place to change so much." Shao Shude sighed a little, "The impression of this place before was only in the description of government documents, and it has been difficult to have an intuitive view. I came here today to take a look, only to find that the changes are really big. Haha, this is also the epitome of our country, and it is changing with each passing day.”

"My Dadong'an country is just like the rising sun, and it is magnificent." Xu Wenxuan was also very emotional, "It's a pity to think about the aging Daming. Uh...Master Shao, the next official is not right. Caring for the homeland, I just have a little emotion." Xu Wenxuan slipped his words for a moment, feeling a little embarrassed.

"It doesn't matter." Shao Shude waved his hand, "I still know Assistant Xu, and your loyalty to the country is unquestionable. We, the adherents of the former Song Dynasty and the people of the Ming Dynasty have the same origin, and it is human nature to feel a little bit of nostalgia. It's just that you Song Dynasty has been dead for hundreds of years, and you are no longer a subject of Ming Dynasty, so it is better to be less emotional in the future. I think Assistant Xu, a shrewd person like you, can understand the current policy direction of the central government."

"Yes, yes, the old leader is also doing this for the benefit of the lower officials." Xu Wenxuan sweated slightly on his forehead, and said, "Master Qian often talks about some discussions in the court and listens to the lower officials. Since the central government has decided to get rid of bad habits, refresh To cheer up the people, Ping'an Town naturally obeys. Master Qian has entrusted the subordinate officials to take charge of this matter, and the subordinate officials dare not slack off for a moment."

"Oh? You're doing this? Xiaoqian is a free-hand shopkeeper." Shao Shude became interested and asked, "How did you do it? Let me hear."

"Most of the more than [-] people in Ping'an Fort are simple Chinese people, and their habits have a lot in common with the etiquette system promoted by the imperial court. In addition, there are all kinds of facilities in the city, so it is necessary to take regular baths, have regular haircuts, promote Mandarin, wear new clothes, Prohibiting cults, ethnic intermarriage, and maintaining hygiene are not difficult to implement. Most of the energy of the lower officials is on telling the people, telling you that you are now the people of Dong'an, you need to work honestly, obey orders, and create benefits for the country. The country is not only for a certain family and one surname, but also for all my people on the east coast." Xu Wenxuan said, "The lower officials organized a missionary team to pick out densely populated places every day and spread the word to the people. : Now everyone is a citizen of the east coast, and Ming Dynasty has become a passing cloud. The country has given you land to grow, houses to live in, and food to eat. You should serve the country well. Whoever doesn’t listen to the country will be fine It's like a wolf with a dog's lungs, and a pig with a dog's lungs."

"Pfft." Shao Shude had just opened the water bag and took a sip of water, when he heard Xu Wenxuan's words of joy, he almost spit out, "Haha, Assistant Xu, since you are a gentleman Hearing these slang words in the market, I couldn't help laughing for a while, haha. Common people like to seek profit, so there is no need to preach on this matter, you can lure them. Regarding this point, Dingyuan Township has done a good job, you can go to Learn. Now there are 500 people over there, except for the color of their faces, they are almost the same as in the middle land. By the way, I heard that women in Ming Dynasty are very popular nowadays, and all of them from the capital come here from afar to offer a large amount of dowry Seeking to marry a Daming woman."

"There is such a thing." Xu Wenxuan said with a little embarrassment, "Because it was rumored a while ago that those who marry women of different races will be promoted faster in official careers, and will receive more subsidies than others in their salaries in the future. There are many people, but there are few people in Ming Dynasty. Those Thai and Western military officers, craftsmen, and officials looked down on native women, so they went to Ping Anbao to ask for a Ming woman. The fierce competition is shocking. It is said that seven or eight people came to the same family. In comparison, the last naval officer married a Daming woman with a sky-high dowry of 50 yuan. This incident was a sensation far and wide, and I don’t know how many people in Ming Dynasty who have no daughters at home have been envied.”

"Hehe, this is not groundless." Shao Shude said with a chuckle: "It is nonsense to be promoted faster in the official career, but it is true to receive more subsidies. This policy will be introduced soon. I heard that most of the local people marry You married Tatan women from the nearby coal mining area and Taixi women from Zhenhaibao in the south, and Ping’an Township gave out thousands of yuan in bonuses alone. That’s right, your work is still fruitful. National integration is a century-old plan for the country, and it cannot be sloppy. If we don’t enforce it now when it’s easy, I’m afraid we will have to pay a price in the future. Well, let’s stop standing here and finish unloading the cargo quickly, and I’ll take a boat to Dongfang County later.”

"Ah? The old leader is in such a hurry to leave, and the subordinate has already bought a little wine at home, and I hope the old leader will appreciate it." Xu Wenxuan said hastily.

"There's no time to spare." Shao Shude sighed, "I'm going to the central government to fight with people today. I can't help it. There is a shortage of people in Changshan Castle. I'm in a hurry. Next time, I know you are also a kid now. I am a bit wealthy now, the oil press workshop is doing well, haha, next time I will eat at a hotel in the capital."

(End of this chapter)