Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2046 Hunting Country ([-])

Above the mountains, the clouds are so low that you can almost touch them.

Wang Dazhuang, who was in the Andes Mountains, felt that he was surrounded by a thick layer of clouds, which was very strange.He strolled on the path in the mountains, the sunlight was very dim after being filtered by the clouds, and the weeds and trees in the mountains were covered with a layer of gray-green tone.

The ubiquitous wind was blowing gently, and Wang Dazhuang smelled the fragrance of grass leaves and wild flowers.The scent was so fresh that he decided to head towards the scent of flowers.After going around a few bends in the mountain path, the fragrance became more intense and turned into the fragrance of the fragrant air. It was an invitation to stop everyone.

"The Andes are destined to be one of the purest spaces on this planet. When the original air is no longer remembered in other parts of the world, in the Andes, it is still a reality every day." Sniffing the roadside lightly Wang Dazhuang murmured with an intoxicated expression on his face, "People from the Taoist Association have always wanted to build Taoist palaces, classics research institutions, and religious schools on the Andes Mountains. It seems that there is a reason. This land is pregnant with countless spiritualities." The land is indeed the closest to the gods. But, why didn’t they build a mountain gate in the mountains of Patagonia? Is it because the winter snow is too thick there?”

Wang Dazhuang is a meteorologist, zoologist, and also has a lot of research in geography.Even as a government official in Hexi Township, last year he published a paper on the Chaco Plain and the neighboring Andes, which was praised by many scholars.In his thesis, he cited a lot of data provided by the Army Department, such as the height of mountains, the location of passes, the size of forests, etc., which can be said to be very familiar with these places.But as the saying goes, hearing is not as good as seeing. After seeing the majestic scenery of the Andes, at this moment he just wants to sing like a poet, not explain like a doctor.

The Andes Mountains do have a soul-stirring charm!

There is a winding road at the foot of the mountain. The road is long and not in good condition.This is the kilometer leading to the upper Peru area on the other side of the mountain. With a history of more than 100 years, although the Spaniards have invested and maintained it intermittently, it is still irresistibly decayed under the erosion of the years.

This time, Wang Dazhuang and his party also proposed to the Spaniards to build a high-grade highway from Resistencia to Salta to facilitate the commercial and trade exchanges between the two countries.Because of the relatively large and sparsely populated Chaco Plain, the roads from Salta, Tucumán and other places—more precisely, from Upper Peru and other places—to the banks of the Paraguay River are also in disrepair and unusable. , and even some road sections have no roads at all, or trails stepped on by shepherds and businessmen spontaneously.

When Wang Dazhuang and others came, they had experienced the power of this path.The continuous torrential rain has filled every puddle on this road with water. Cow dung, rotten wood and even some dead bodies (both of people and animals) are often seen in the center of the road. Fortunately, Wang Dazhuang and the others didn't bring any big carts, otherwise they might suffer a lot.

Of course, the most annoying and dangerous thing about this road is not the bad road conditions, but the Indians or armed bandits that appear on both sides of the road from time to time.You must know that not all the Quechuas belonged to the rule of the Spanish colonial government, and the Catholic missionaries were not so capable.In fact, even after hundreds of years of colonization, there are still some Quechuas (and perhaps a few Krandis) who are hostile to outsiders and greedy for the goods of the caravans that come and go on the road, so armed attacks are often carried out event.

In addition, some unidentified armed bandits will also show their presence.Some of them are even scum from the east coast, which is a headache.There are now 700 million people on the east bank, and it is normal for some idle and vicious scum to come out. They often leave their hometown for various reasons, and then choose to become bandits, armed robbery caravans, and even caravans from the east bank are killed. Snatched, the Syphilis Patient Statistics and Investigation Bureau has been tracking this down for a long time.But this kind of people are always being killed, and one group is caught and another group is caught. The safety hazard of the king's caravan can never be eradicated.

Wang Dazhuang believes that the only solution is to bring the Chaco Plain under the rule of the Eastern China Republic, and set up military outposts, settlements and other institutions along the road—well, of course, we must not forget the great toll booth, so that we can get back to the cage as soon as possible Funding - step by step to keep this road away from danger.

General Vicente of Salta was a little surprised at the whimsical road building of the people on the east coast.Strictly speaking, this kind of thing is quite taboo, and it should not be mentioned with officials of his level.Highways, especially high-grade highways with strategic significance, are even more imaginative. After all, they can not only prosper commerce and promote the exchange of goods, but can also be used to transport combat supplies and soldiers.Not to mention, the usual routine of people on the east coast is to first build a road that can pass heavy-duty horse-drawn carriages, and then rely on this road to transport a large amount of railway equipment, food supplies, and laborers like locusts to build a road. The railway that goes straight to the heart is the most worrying thing.

Therefore, General Vicente did not dare to make any statement, but just shirked blindly, saying that this matter should be reported to the Buenos Aires Prosecutor's Court or even the Governor of Peru, and he could not make the decision.Unexpectedly, Wang Dazhuang lightly said that of course they will handle this matter according to the procedures. In fact, the relevant envoys are already on their way to Buenos Aires and Lima.The reason why they mentioned it to General Vicente was mainly to greet him in advance, let him know that such a thing might happen sometime in the future, and have a psychological preparation.

Hearing what Wang Dazhuang said, Vicente immediately understood, and at the same time, he was slightly annoyed: these people from the east coast are really going too far, and they are not paying attention to people more and more.The matter of road construction has not yet happened, and the messenger is still on the way, so he came here first to prepare himself in advance, this is simply insulting!

The more General Vicente thought about it, the more annoyed he became. However, after meeting the gaze of an officer with cold eyes behind Wang Dazhuang, he immediately faltered again, thinking that he should be more arrogant. Anyway, this is not the first time that people from the East Coast have been so Done.The entire Buenos Aires Procuratorial Court area has basically been regarded as a private garden by others, and they can be tossed about as they like.I am also an old man, and it was hard to get the current position, so it is better not to make troubles. It all depends on what the governor of Lima has to say. I believe that people from the east bank will not be rejected.

In addition, after old Vicente adjusted his mentality, he immediately entered the mode that a mature businessman should have, and began to think about how he could take advantage of the shareholder wind after the completion of the road and even the railway.Salta, Tucumán and other places are on the only way to Upper Peru, and the caravans are not there, but they were all attracted to La Rioja and Cordoba in the south. Too little of Huerta reaches the Paraguay River eastward.After all, it is not surprising that far more people do business with the vibrant East Coast than with Paraguay.

If people on the east coast really build roads and even railways connecting Resistencia and Salta in the future, then this will definitely greatly change the traffic pattern on the entire Chaco Great Plains.Going east along the highway and railway from here, the caravans arriving in Resistencia will increase exponentially. Find a way to grab your own share of the benefits.Well, legitimate interests!

Thinking of this, old Vicente felt better again.As a colonial official of modest birth, his family's ancestors had immigrated from A Coruña to the Panamanian Prosecutor's Court District for several generations, and the struggle has only allowed him to win a decent general post.He can't let go of this opportunity. The family needs a lot of money to continue to climb up. He must seize every opportunity to make money.

Wang Dazhuang didn't care what old Vicente thought. In fact, he only needed to bring the words to him.Of course, as the chief official of the Hexi region, Wang Dazhuang himself is still optimistic about the construction of this road (and the future railway), because it will obviously greatly improve the economic situation of the Hexi colonization site and attract more people. Many native immigrants came to settle here.The great effectiveness of the Yanbu Railway has well proved this point. The Niulanshan area is now a large population and a prosperous economy. It is a well-known producing area of ​​wheat, soybeans, grass, beef and leather in the whole country.While the grain production in the prairie on the east coast and the Yazihu ​​Basin is decreasing day by day, the grain production in the Niulanshan area has increased year after year, effectively filling the gap while still having surplus.

Among them, the Yanbu Railway plays an extremely important role in transportation. A large amount of agricultural products are transported to Nancun Port by rumbling steam trains, and then cross the Rio de la Plata from here to major consumer cities such as Shangcheng, Qingdao, Dongfang, and Zhenhai. .The economy of East Pampa (referring to the Pampa Plain to the east of the Yanbu Railway) has developed so rapidly with the help of the Yanbu Railway, which has fascinated many people.

To be fair, Chacoping is not as suitable for large-scale agricultural development as the Pampa Plain due to terrain, climate and other factors.The terrain here is low, there is a lot of water, and the drainage is not smooth, and many lands tend to be salinized.If you want to improve it, you will have to invest a lot of money and manpower, and it will take decades or even more than a hundred years.In addition, the soil layer here is relatively thin, not as fat as the Pampa Plain. If you don't pay attention to protecting the soil, it is easy to deplete the nutrients in the soil, resulting in low food production.

What is really worth developing in the Chaco Plain is actually a small part of the relatively humid eastern part, which is the area that people on the east coast are now emphasizing on reclamation.Here is a vast area formed by the flooding of rivers, with rich water and grass and fertile soil, which can effectively develop agriculture. The premise is to dredge the river and build a series of water conservancy facilities such as embankments, reservoirs, and ditches.

Of course, the Chaco Plain also has its own advantages, that is, the forest area here is not small, the climate is warm, and the animal resources are quite rich, so it can be planned according to local conditions.In the eastern region suitable for cultivation, grain is grown, the wood processing industry is developed in the forest area, and the rest is grazing. Anyway, it is relatively dry, sheep are not easy to get annoying foot rot, and can produce a lot of wool.What's more, the geographical location here is also relatively critical. It can lead to Paraguay and Upper Peru in the north, enter the fertile Pampa Plain in the south, communicate with the Pacific coast west of the Andes in the west, and connect with the East Coast in the east. Adjacent to the Hejian area, which has already seen its first prosperous scene, it can be described as a heartland extending in all directions.

Therefore, it can be seen from here that the Chaco Plain still has its merits.In the future, once the East Coast government decides to move the capital to La Plata, the importance of this place will even increase and attract more people.Especially if the upper Peru, Paraguay, Chile and other places are all removed from the east coast, this place will become a hub where various railways and highways meet. It is not surprising that there will be a commercial center and a large cargo distribution center.

Therefore, Wang Dazhuang really understands the reason why the upper class is obsessed with the Chaco Plain, and he also supports the occupation and conquest of the Chaco Plain by the east bank.It would be even more perfect if some humanitarian disasters could be reduced and as many native Indians as possible could be preserved in the process.

"Now that the road is built, the railway will not be far away. In the future, the end of these roads will definitely not stop at Salta. From Salta to the north, along the ancient mountain pass, cross the Andes, and enter the coastal area of ​​Upper Peru. The road is also very critical. In addition, the construction of a road from Buenos Aires to Cordoba, La Rioja and other places will be gradually put on the agenda in the future. In this case, We have two traffic arteries that traverse the entire La Plata, which is crucial to the development and government of the entire La Plata. It’s just that the technology of steam locomotives is not yet good enough, and we can’t make enough powerful ones. The locomotive can cross the Andes mountains thousands of meters high. Of course, compared with steam locomotives, how to build a mountain-climbing railway in the towering Andes mountains is probably more technically difficult." Thinking about it, Wang Dazhuang's thoughts Involuntarily drifting into the distance: "Hey, why do you think so much? Maybe when I get old, I may not see this kind of railway and train appearing. Right now, let's think more about how to develop the Chaco Plain. Pampa Ping Yuan is a ready teacher, there are a lot of things we can learn from, which is quite good."

(End of this chapter)