Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1971 Central Valley ([-])

On January 1687, 1, it was sunny in southern Chile.

The bright sunshine shines through the mist over the valley, swaying to every corner of the plain, unreservedly giving its own light and warmth to the plants, animals and hard-working human beings on the earth.

This is the reclamation area of ​​Hongqi Prison, which has developed to 12 natural villages and a quarry. At the same time, there are fishing and aquaculture institutions in the lake to the east. The total number of exiled prisoners and their families has exceeded 500. People, on a very large scale, are a force enough to make the Spaniards shudder.

Of course, the reclamation activities of the people on the east coast in the north of the boundary river were acquiesced by the Kingdom of Spain, which has been vaguely confirmed by the special envoy of the Governor of Peru, Arango.The reason, to put it bluntly, is that the people on the east coast gave them a certain amount of loans, and at the same time sold a batch of mining equipment to Potosi to help them improve production efficiency.Coupled with the increasingly tense situation in Europe, the Spaniards finally agreed to the terms offered by the people on the east coast, acquiescing to the five prison colonization areas north of the boundary river, including the Red Flag Prison, and an "academic education institution" (Bingtuan Four Fort) exists.

In fact, it doesn’t matter if you don’t agree. After four years in a row, people from the east bank have immigrated here—this time they are not criminals, but immigrants with innocent backgrounds—now there are five prisons in Luyuan, Slatted House, Shihezi, Tuerling, and Hongqi. There are already more than 3 people in the reclamation area. If you count the students, faculty and staff of the Fourth Fort of the Corps, and the farmers who cultivated in the surrounding areas, the total number has exceeded [-], which is amazing.

Spain couldn't cope with such a large number of people. Therefore, after receiving the three main conditions promised by the East Bank: low-interest loans, help to build roads, and the elimination of the Araucan Indians, they immediately shrank and no longer cared about the East Bank. People's activities here, the premise is that they don't touch the silver mines of Valdivia and the mercury mines of Villarrica.

People on the east coast are of course not very interested in those silver mines and mercury mines!Those things should be temporarily stored in the hands of the Spaniards.They took the silver (mercury is also used to refine silver), and in the end, didn't they want to obediently buy things from the people on the east coast?The facts over the years tell everyone that a large part of the silver mined by the Spaniards was finally returned to the east coast by purchasing various industrial products.Just like later generations of countries and dynasties loaned money to countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America for infrastructure construction. When people hire Chinese engineering companies, buy materials, and do design, they often return [-]% of the loan in the form of profits, and then there is still principal and interest to be collected. After the project is completed, it will be repaid There are services to sell, if there are additional mining conditions, then this business should not be too profitable!

The relationship between the East Coast and Spain is actually similar.Over the years, the country’s loans on the east coast have been either issued in the form of materials or designated to purchase goods on the east coast. During this process, the people on the east coast have recovered more than half of the loans, and the remaining loans are loved by the Spaniards. If you pay it back, you will naturally make a lot of money. If you don’t pay it back, the people on the east coast will take the collateral (usually land, forests, mines, and docks) by themselves, and they will also make a lot of money.

Therefore, the people on the east coast really don't care much about the silver mines in the interior of Valdivia.What they pay more attention to is still being able to get the land in their hands for development.Especially the relatively fertile and sunny Central Valley of Chile, which can support people, has always been attached great importance to from top to bottom on the east coast.They have always insisted that there are people who have everything, and no one can’t support the "big country strategy" on the east coast, and they can’t do anything. Therefore, they attach great importance to any agricultural area that can support people, and they must be obtained quickly. For example, at the beginning the inter-riveral region, the Pampa Plain a while ago, and what is now the Central Valley of Chile.

"Recently, I went to various villages to check the local sanitation conditions, and the results were a bit shocking." Xiang Zirui, who has been promoted to a senior officer, came to the battalion headquarters of the No.12 mixed battalion and had a drink with his old friend, Major Jiang Ning.While drinking, the two chatted about their recent work.

"To be honest, the environment in southern Chile is still relatively humid, the air humidity is extremely high, and the temperature in winter and spring is relatively cold. It is very unfriendly to newcomers, and you will get sick if you are not careful." Taking a sip of pre-dinner tea Xiang Zirui complained with a wry smile: "Take Hongqi Prison as an example. There are so many villages nearby, with a total of more than 2000 men, women and children. I took a rough count and found that more than 10% of the adults were weak or temporarily weak. Lost the ability to do heavy physical work. Even those who can do heavy work, in my opinion, their complexion is not necessarily healthy, always with a lot of paleness, obviously the long-term unsatisfactory living environment makes them both physically and psychologically They are all very uncomfortable. Some people are even yellow and emaciated, and their clothes are ragged, and they don’t know where the rations, cotton cloths, wool shoes and other items rationed by the state to prisoners have gone, and whether they have been embezzled by others. No one can say clearly about these things gone."

As a person who has been around several prisons in Jiehebei, Xiang Zirui is naturally not ignorant of all the joints, the style of many prison managers, and the hard work of many people who have worked here for many years.If the water is clear, there will be no fish. As long as the trouble is not too much, they don't bother to take care of it.But the problem is that the physical condition of these prisoners is so bad that they have to rectify. He thought in his heart that he would give those people a warning after a while so that they would not make too much noise.Although he is a prisoner, he still has human rights, right?The things distributed by the state should generally be distributed, and should not be retained too harshly, which would affect production efficiency.

"You, aren't you a prisoner? What a big deal. There are already a lot of broken things and thieves in the newly developed area. It's not the first time you've been in charge of a place. Why aren't you used to it? Instead of keeping your eyes on this area , you might as well spend more time building an effective rural medical system." Jiang Ning shook his head and said in disapproval.

In fact, to a certain extent, Major Jiang Ning was right.Because this is the case with newly developed areas, full of unknown risks.People who are only weak like these are not bad, but those who die of sudden illness are really unlucky, because germs are really unreasonable. Maybe this person was alive and well the day before, tending corn in the field, but He suddenly became bedridden the next day, and after two or three days, he died in a daze—yes, that’s right, he died in a daze, because the only health care worker in the village who had received simple training was at the level of Limited, not enough medicines or equipment, most likely powerless at this moment.

The so-called health care workers are actually junior health workers who have undergone short-term intensive training in county-level hospitals, mastered some simple medical knowledge, and have a certain understanding of several diseases that are highly prevalent in the area.Their general characteristics are that their education level is not high, their skill level is not high, and they are not out of production. That is to say, they are basically people with relatively flexible minds (experienced ones are better) selected from the local villages. They usually have to reclaim wasteland and plant various crop.It's just that when the villagers in the same village are sick and ask for help, they will do their best to provide them with some help, although it is doubtful whether the help will be useful.

But from another point of view, if they have high medical skills, why do they stay in your remote village, why don't they go to Ping'an, Dongfang, Qingdao and other big cities?You must know that in the Eastern Republic of China, due to the lack of qualified medical personnel, the income level of doctors is generally very high. The monthly income of tens of yuan is just the beginning, and the annual income of the famous ones can even reach thousands of yuan. Not exaggerating.

Many of them have come out and opened their own clinics.On weekdays, they often go to the families of wealthy businessmen and officials, eat and watch theaters at the most famous restaurants on Expo Street, and hire Italian girls to act as nanny, and when they go in and out, they are helped to carry suitcases and go to the patients in a luxury carriage, charging a lot of money. consultation fee.

Is such a character accessible to you as a farmer in a remote village?What a joke!Therefore, as long as a health care worker has a certain level, he will try his best to obtain a formal medical license, and then go to work in a hospital in the city.Now more and more hospitals are being built across the country, but the number of doctors is seriously insufficient, so these people don't have to worry about finding jobs at all.Not here, I can go there, as long as you are good enough.And if you have been working in a hospital for a long time, have rich experience, and become famous, you can still find a way to resign (although it is not easy) and start your own clinic. This is another realm.

Therefore, the rural areas have to consider their own reality. If they cannot retain high-level workers, then they should settle for the next best thing and hire some health care workers with a reasonable level.Anyway, they are native farmers with active minds in their hometown. They can learn some simple knowledge and deal with it daily without being too strong.People like them are generally more respected in the countryside, and their income is also high, so they are more willing to stay in their hometown and serve the villagers for a lifetime. Fully explained their characteristics.

Compared with their extremely low cost, why can you keep serious doctors in your rural areas?Not to mention that if you can stay, you can't afford to support them. This is a very realistic thing.As for the diseases that the health care workers can't handle, they can only go to the county hospital or wait for the certified doctors of the circuit hospital to diagnose, but the charges are definitely much more expensive than the country's own health care workers, which is not the same.

"I heard a while ago that the group of rural health care workers you applied for has been approved by the superiors? Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and make all the preliminary preparations, and arrange them as soon as they arrive. You must find ways to retain them. They." Jiang Ning went on to say: "Let me tell you, this is an effective policy in the eastern coastal areas of China, and it was promoted to our side when it felt good. You know it very well, so I don't have many said."

"Well, you are right. Rural health care workers are indeed the core of the rural medical system." Xiang Zirui nodded and agreed: "They are members of the rural society, have lived in the local area for a long time, and are familiar with the local environment. Understand the characteristics of the local disease. Many patients are even related by blood. At worst, they are also classmates, friends, and acquaintances. As the saying goes, they are all from the same village. The disease will not simply be perfunctory, but will be taken seriously. Otherwise, the local people in the hometown will not give him a good evaluation, and this will undoubtedly have a greater negative impact on their foothold in the countryside. Therefore, They are an absolutely trustworthy group, and of course they are our only choice at this stage."

In fact, there is indeed such a benign interaction between rural health care workers and villagers.This is a society where there are no strangers, and the eyes of the masses are discerning, which means that the health care workers work under the supervision of the masses. Together, they form such a rural health care ecosystem that helps each other.When Xiang Zirui was working in Fenggu Island, there was a village health worker who was serious and responsible. He worked tirelessly and charged very low fees, which won the appreciation of many people.Later, when his eldest son got married, many people brought a big gift with him to express their gratitude; when the second son bought a fishing boat and recruited sailors, he responded unanimously. In this regard, it is indeed beyond the reach of doctors in the city. arrived.

When it comes to the low fees of health care workers, it is impossible not to mention their charging methods.In fact, in the rural areas on the east coast, it cannot be said that there are no places where cash transactions are used, but there are not many places. For example, you can take wheat to the flour mill, and then exchange it for a certain amount of flour in proportion, without paying a penny for the whole process. cash.The fees for health workers are the same. They can collect food, eggs, poultry, leather, wool, etc., which is very convenient for rural people.

Of course, in the more developed coastal areas on the east coast, because many rural areas have established cooperatives and are mostly engaged in the cultivation of vegetables, fruits, flowers and other high value-added crops, the proportion of rural health care workers there may be higher in cash.For example, medical expenses in some wealthy villages are regularly settled through cooperatives, and then distributed to health care workers. The situation varies from place to place and cannot be generalized, but overall the cost performance of health care workers is very high, and it is worthy of vigorous promotion.

The introduction of the rural health care worker system in the prison exile colony area is actually not Xiang Zirui's invention.In fact, there have been small-scale pilot projects in Shihezi Prison and other places before, and someone Xiang Xiang also conducted research there.But this time, when he saw the poor medical and sanitary conditions of the farmers in the villages in the reclamation area of ​​Hongqi Prison that he was in charge of, Xiang Zirui was moved, and planned to establish the same health care worker system here to serve the general public. Although many of them are exiled prisoners.

Therefore, he used to report and apply to his superiors every month for more than half a year. After repeated failures, his superiors were finally "moved" and agreed to send them a group of trained health care workers to move his family to the above-mentioned The area has settled down, and these people should arrive almost soon after calculating the time.

The next thing he wants to do to someone is to make preliminary preparations and make every effort to create a good living environment for these rural health care workers, so that they can take root here, live a stable life, and at the same time serve the vast number of reclamation people ,This is the most important.Compared with this matter, some disputes with the Spaniards actually seem trivial.

(End of this chapter)