Rise of the 1630s South America

On February 7, Xiaoxue.

The National Cemetery on the north bank of the Great Fish River is about to welcome its first resident, and the Swiss immigrant Dennis Helvig who died in the "July [-] Incident" will be buried here.

Funeral crowds stand at the entrance to the cemetery.Since the notice was issued yesterday, many resting cross-travelers and immigrants also rushed over.Ma Ganzu and a group of executive committee members stood at the front. They had been waiting for a while, and a thin layer of snow had accumulated on their clothes.

Soon, the coffin carried by eight people including Army Commissioner Peng Zhicheng and Navy Commissioner Wang Qinian appeared in everyone's eyes.In the lead were two Guardsmen with matchlock guns, and then Helvig's wife and daughter.

Helvig's wife and daughter walked in front of the coffin with mournful faces in brand new coats.Behind them were Peng Zhicheng, Wang Qinian and others in blue military uniforms. Behind the coffin, eight armed guard soldiers marched slowly in two columns.Due to the lack of musical instruments, the funeral went on in silence.The sobs of the family members of the deceased intertwined with the heavy footsteps of the guard of honor, and there was a soul-stirring power.

Pastor Francis next to the tomb glanced at his "assistant"—the freshly baked assistant pastor Ye Yongxing. Ye Yongxing smiled back and handed him a funeral speech written by Gao Mo.

Reverend Francis could not forget the first time he met his young assistant.The first thing this young man who claimed to be a Christian said to him was "All unreported missionary activities are prohibited", which almost made Pastor Francis collapse.However, he soon discovered that the young man was not joking. Ye Yongxing, who had close contacts with the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, dominated all religious affairs in the territory, and Pastor Francis was completely a show.

Nowadays, only some celebrations or festivals can use him as a genuine priest.

The funeral procession entered the cemetery, eight people including Peng Zhicheng carefully placed the coffin into the grave that had already been dug, and then dispersed.

Ye Yongxing gestured to Pastor Francis with his eyes.The pastor took a deep breath, stepped forward helplessly, unfolded the speech in his hand, and read it to the family members of the deceased and the crowd watching the ceremony.

"Lord of love: You have never been far from each of your sons and daughters, now please take care of those who are far away from us. Dennis Helvig from Basel died in the just war against the cruel and evil Charuya, Hellwig Mr. Ervig is a good man. He has followed your teachings all his life and never overstepped. He fought for you and died for you. Please forgive his sins and send angels to be with him on his way Be his protection, so that his trust in you will never change. I ask you to give him wisdom and wisdom, the ability to resist temptation, and do all the work he does; let him find joy in doing your will, not Let the distance affect our fellowship; so that we can watch each other, be faithful to the end, fulfill our respective responsibilities and duties, and glorify the Father in heaven together. Pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, amen.”

The Swiss Protestants who watched the ceremony prayed collectively, while the cross-travelers experienced the solemn and mournful atmosphere, and the scene was silent for a while.

After the prayer was over, Ye Yongxing pulled Pastor Francis aside.Ma Ganzu brushed off the falling snow from his clothes, took out a piece of paper from his pocket, went to the grave and read it.This is a traditional Chinese funeral speech, which mainly talks about Dennis Helvig's life story and the meaning of sacrifice.It took less than 10 minutes to finish the whole story.

After Ma Ganzu finished his speech, eight soldiers of the garrison collectively fired their guns in mourning, and then the family members bid farewell for the last time.After the family members bid farewell, the guard soldiers began to fill the grave and erect the tombstone, and the funeral was over.

Before the crowd dispersed, Civil Affairs Commissioner Xiao Mingli announced on the spot that five people would be given the title of free people, namely the deceased Dennis Helvig, his wife and daughter, and the injured Christopher Grote and his sister.Obtaining the title of free citizen means that they are no longer indentured slaves of Dong'an Company, but employees of Dong'an Company who have signed a formal labor contract. They enjoy the same standard of living as ordinary cross-travelers every month, and their future is quite different.

After understanding what Xiao Mingli announced, more than 20 Swiss immigrants present looked at the families of Helvig and Grote with complicated expressions.They are all poor people who can't survive in Europe, and they came to America to make a living.Although working here is hard work, I can eat steaming noodles or rice every day, and occasionally some fish soup, which is already very satisfying.But now seeing their family members stepping up to the sky, not only can they receive a certain amount of silver coin allowances every month, but they can also taste delicious canned beef, jam, and maybe wine; thinking of this, the hearts of these immigrants became hot : Maybe I also have a chance to live a decent life?Just hard work or loyalty?

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Dingyuan Fort.

Although it was snowing lightly and the wind was relatively strong, the construction team had no intention of stopping work.Today, the number of ships arriving at the dock has doubled compared to before. In addition to a large amount of building materials, the executive committee also delivered a large amount of daily necessities to Dingyuan Castle: flour, rice, soybeans, canned food and even precious vegetables.

As the weather is getting colder, the executive committee is worried that the Dayu River will freeze, so it has been rushing to transport supplies for the past two days.The construction team is also working overtime. At present, the trench outside Dingyuan Fort has basically been excavated. The two-meter-deep and three-meter-wide trench has introduced the water of Dayu Lake, forming a moat, which gave everyone a great sense of security.

Construction also continued inside the fort, with dormitories, workshops, wells and rainwater collection basins already completed before the Charuya raid.Now the construction team's goals are rainwater sedimentation tanks, filter tanks, and material warehouses. The simple canteens, bathhouses, and toilets currently in use must also be rebuilt into brick and tile cement structures.In addition, there is also the construction of the fort walls and sentry towers. The wooden walls and sentry towers will be replaced with brick ones. This is a major project, and it is estimated that the construction team will not be idle all winter.

Lin Youde leaned against the pillar by the pier a little depressed, looking at the fishing boats in the distance that were ready to call it a day.

The joint investigation team sent by the "central government" has been investigating him for two full days. The people from the Ministry of the Army and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are relatively easy-going and friendly; in comparison, Wang De from the Ministry of Justice is somewhat It's nothing, this guy was Bai Siwen's partner when he opened a law firm, and he wore the same pair of pants.He put on a businesslike face all day long, and went around to investigate Lin Youde's every word, deed, and every move that night. Fortunately, he didn't make any major mistakes that night, and the brothers were also very helpful. Did not let him catch any handle.

But the construction team and the fish factory workers are in some trouble. I don't have much influence, so those people might say what they will say about me. On the night of July 7th, I really panicked. In addition, it was the first time I encountered such a thing. I had no plan beforehand, and I had no command experience. It is understandable to panic for a while.But the shortcomings do not hide the advantages, didn't he stabilize the situation later?This is more convincing than anything.

Moreover, it was these bastards who were the first to be in chaos that night, running around and yelling, which would have resulted in beheading in ancient times.Everyone feels that they are awesome, disorganized and undisciplined, some want to go east, some want to go west, scurrying around like headless chickens.Afterwards, there were rumors about what would happen if I was in command that night.

I bother!It's all a bunch of stuff.Lin Youde spat hard.Let me get through this test, and if you don't practice hard in the future, your father won't be surnamed Lin.Don't be too arrogant about that bird Wang De, didn't you just sarcasm and satirize you when you were in the logging team?I just don't want to see your lawyers, grandma is a bear, now I'm going to beat me to death when I get the chance.You wait, this matter is not over!It's best not to bump into my hands in the future.

Lin Youde blew the cold wind for a while, and his depression dissipated a lot.It just so happened that the fishing team's boat also stopped work and docked at the pier. We had a lot of harvest today. Everyone talked and laughed, and returned to the fort together.

At this moment, dinner was being served in the castle, and Xiao Bailang was drinking a bowl of vegetable and soybean soup. Seeing that Lin Youde had returned, he patted the seat beside him and said, "Xiao Lin, come here, sit here."

Lin Youde took a bowl of green vegetable noodles and sat down as he said.

"Why are you putting on a dirty face? Who are you showing it to?" Xiao Bailang snorted, and took another big mouthful of soup: "Stop thinking about it, your little shit is nothing. The leaders are not fools, and You can tell right from wrong. Your performance this time is actually not bad. In the face of the enemy's night attack, you not only defended the fort, but also minimized casualties. Generally speaking, it's not bad."

After drinking the remaining vegetable soup in a few breaths, Xiao Bailang muttered a few more words: "The next work needs to be more detailed, rules and regulations, contingency plans, and training schedules must all be worked out. Don't be as confused as before. , work must pay attention to methods and methods, and you must not be afraid of offending others, just let it go, you can toss about my territory as you like."

Lin Youde was stunned for a moment, didn't speak, and continued to eat noodles with his head down.