Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2057 Central Valley (21)

The wind in the mountains is a bit strong.Even though he was wearing a thick leather jacket, Sun Wuben still felt a little cold.In fact, he has already regretted coming to inspect high-altitude roads at this age. This should be the patent of young people, although he always thinks that he is not very old.

The starting point of the highway is located in the county seat of Boling County in the Central Valley of Chile, and it goes all the way east to Xinchu Township.People can take a break here, resupply supplies, and then continue east into the mountains, passing through the narrow valleys between the mountains, to the high lake village (later La Angus) on the shore of Amber Lake (Nahuel Huapi Lake). The small town of Tula, established a few years ago).

Gaohu Township has a small population, but it is enough to provide food and medicine necessary for travelers and convoys, as well as repair vehicles and other facilities. There are hotels for people to rest, wine making, fishing and basic food processing industries. It is a small but complete maintenance and supply base, and it is the only place to pass when going out of the mountain from the west or entering the mountain from the east.

In fact, Gaohu Township also has a small wharf, where four 72-ton small steamers belonging to the Inland River Transport Company are moored all year round to transport people and materials to and from various parts of Amber Lake.Of course, limited by the tonnage of the ships, these small boats can only transport people and small items of goods, and large items of goods, even horses, draft animals, etc., can still only travel along the road.

However, I heard that under the pressure of the Ministry of Communications, Hyundai Special Shipyard recently had to invest in the development of a large flat-bottomed boat.This kind of ship has a large deck area, shallow draft, and a large displacement. It is very suitable for sailing on calm rivers and lakes. It can transport a large number of people, horses, and goods at one time. In the closed water body of Amber Lake, it is actually better than a small fire. Wheels are more advantageous.

It is said that the Ministry of Communications even intends to develop a flat-bottomed boat with a larger tonnage and stronger endurance on this basis to carry trains across the river.There is no doubt that the ship would be better with a steel hull - at least the deck would be steel - with standard rails (1500mm) left on the deck for the trains to drive up and then some room to build passenger cabins, Stables and so on are almost done.

In fact, this kind of ship also has its prototype on the east coast.Between the Jiangbei and Baoding areas, the Dongan people specially built several large flat-bottomed boats made of wood, which can transport a steam locomotive, a tender tanker, and a passenger carriage to and from the Wujiang River. both sides.But this kind of wooden boat has a major defect, that is, the structural strength is not enough, which leads to the rapid damage of the deck, so that it has to be repaired every three days, which seriously affects the efficiency of use.

There are even some ships that have to be repaired for several months because of damage to the main supporting parts, which is really helpless.If we want to solve this stubborn disease, we may have to wait until the level of basic industry has made great progress, and all supporting industries have caught up, and then start producing high-strength ships.

In fact, the Navy also attaches great importance to this aspect.They feel that this technology has something in common with the iron-clad battleship technology they are trying to research, that is, one fixes steel rails and some iron plates on the deck, and the other fixes iron plates on the hull. It is indeed somewhat similar. place.Therefore, they decisively cooperated with Hyundai Special Shipyard and Tieling Heavy Industry Consortium, and jointly invested funds in research and development, with a view to achieving technological breakthroughs as soon as possible.Europeans are not slow to make progress in steam technology now, and people on the east coast can no longer live on their credit books. Now the navy is focusing on making breakthroughs in two areas, one is artillery, and the other is armor.If the two aspects are almost studied, it will form a generation gap for Europeans like the steam engine sailing fleet.

Well, the above may be a few years or even ten years later, and it has nothing to do with the present. Let us turn our attention back to this national road that runs through the majestic Andes Mountains.According to the plan, this national road connecting Boling County and Shuofang County should be a second-class national road-here, according to the relevant regulations of the East Bank, this kind of strategic-level road must be a first-class national road, but it is obviously not so good in mountainous areas. Possibly, so it was downgraded—but due to the complex climate and environment in the mountains, the difficult living conditions, and the difficulty in transporting various materials, the overall quality of this road is actually uneven.

The section from Boling County to Xinchu Township, because it is on the plain of the Central Valley, the national road is beautifully built, with reasonable planning and solid materials, which fully complies with the relevant standards set by the Ministry of Communications. Stable, coupled with the beautiful forests, creeks, farmland and lakes on both sides, the whole journey is undoubtedly very relaxing and enjoyable.

Sun Wuben and others set off from Boling County on April 4.After leaving Maolin River, they went straight here, and then interviewed a newly completed middle school in Boling County—Boling Middle School—conducted a brief interview with all the teaching staff of the school, and then hired a horse-drawn carriage for the journey. Traveling eastward, we arrived at Xinchu Township in the afternoon, and stayed in a decent local hotel.

There are now more than 4500 settlers in Xinchu Township, mainly engaged in planting, logging and fishing. Life has always been like that until the completion of this second-class national road. The number of caravans increased sharply. Residents' income began to increase a lot, surpassing that of residents in many other areas.

In the mountains to the east of Xinchu Township there are a few small quarries and sulfur mines, and the operating costs are not high. Generally speaking, they are so-so and can make some money, but not too much.The degree of mechanization of these mines is also relatively low, because these machines need to be bought with money, and the price is high, and these rich rural owners may not have the financial resources to invest.

On April 4, a group of people changed vehicles and hired a team of mules and horses. Under the protection of several guards, they headed east all the way and entered the already relatively cold Andes mountains.The two guides who are not young have been worried all the time, saying that there must be no delay along the way, otherwise they may not be able to reach the other side of the mountain on time.And once they are trapped in the mountains, they will be in a very dangerous situation when the winter comes, and they can only go to a few winter places built by the government-usually a solid stone house, which stores a certain amount of food , bed linen and fuel - resigned to fate.

It is easier and more comfortable for everyone to walk along the valleys and lowlands in the mountains.The national road here is no longer a second-class national road, but a third-class national road, and some road sections may not even exist, highlighting the extreme difficulty of building high-standard roads here.

In the lowlands, towering peaks can be seen in the distance, and there are stretches of forests or highlands nearby.Some highlands seem to be flat, but they are obviously not developed, so they are so barren.Many of these highlands are formed by glacial deposits (mainly terminal moraines, bottom moraines and ice-water deposits) of the most recent glaciation.Some terminal moraine ridges extending from a distance give this area a special landform.

Some hills arise where two ice tongues meet, so each ice stream has its own deposited moraine.After the ice stream is blocked by hills, it will be divided into two or even multiple branches, so the terrain here is very complicated and the scenery is particularly beautiful.Rivers in mountainous areas are relatively long, with fast flow and large drop. If the water power is fully utilized, it can be used to build power stations, mills, sawmills, etc.But unfortunately, this place is too remote, and the climate is relatively cold and humid. I am afraid that few people are willing to come here and settle down.After all, a large piece of good land in the East Coast Republic is still vacant, waiting for someone to fill it in. How blind would this person be to come to settle in the Andes?

Uh, well, maybe you can't say this casually.Monkey King already knew that the bull-nosed people of the Taoist Association like to find places suitable for human habitation in the Andes and build large-scale Taoist palaces.Because they think that the environment in these places is fresh, full of vitality, and the distance from Tianzun is closer, which is very conducive to Qingxiu.Without exception, the scale of these Taoist palaces is very large, with exquisite materials and extraordinary decorations.Anyway, Taoism always has money, and it can build here regardless of the cost, which is unmatched by others.Unfortunately, the route that Sun Wuben and others traveled—there are currently three roads in southern Chile that pass through the low pass of the Andes to reach the Patagonian plateau—there is no such beautiful and magnificent palace on the left and right. It exists, but I heard that those people are already looking for a site. I believe that it will not be long before a new Taoist palace will rise from the ground, and the glory of Tianzun will be further passed on to these corners of the east bank.

"The melting water of the retreating glaciers has created a series of complex valleys near the moraine ridges. Some valleys will form a large area of ​​ice water and hit the wilderness. The soil of these wilderness is not very fertile, so even the Indians are not willing to do so. There are low bushes and woods everywhere.” Sun Wuben rode on the back of a mule that was moving slowly, took out his notebook and began to write shorthand, only to see that he wrote: “But in fact these lands are worth developing. If there is If it is populated, it will be easier for travelers or caravans to travel to and from both sides of the Andes, and the frequency will be more intensive, which is very important for a country with two oceans on the east coast. People in Chile are separated by mountains and the mainland, which will make people Psychologically, there is a centrifugal tendency unconsciously. If it takes a long time, this centrifugal tendency will actually cause a lot of trouble. Therefore, it is necessary for the people on both sides to strengthen economic and cultural exchanges, so as to eliminate the estrangement. .”

The east coast is a country with two oceans. This is a fact that every citizen with a little education knows.As far as the current situation is concerned, the east of the Andes has a vast territory, a large population, and a developed economy, which is the core area.But in the Chilean area west of the Andes, the land is also fertile and suitable for people to settle.Moreover, the fishery resources here are rich, and the mineral resources are also very coveted, so it is also a place that cannot be abandoned.In this way, how to better communicate with the two sides of the Andes, firmly grasp the Chilean region in Shanxi, and eliminate the centrifugal force of the local people has become a very real problem before the executive committee.

And there are only a few ways to solve the problem.The first is to send troops to station at various key points, to cut off the thoughts of some people with ulterior motives militarily, and to maintain the completion of the national territory.The second is to strengthen education, popularize East Coast doctrine and national concepts, so that the people of Shanxi can receive correct education from an early age, and strengthen the country's centripetal force and sense of identity.

The third point - and the most important one - is to strengthen economic and cultural ties.In order to strengthen the connection between these two aspects, the traffic problems between the two places must be overcome, that is to say, the more roads to connect Shanxi and Shandong, the better.

The current three roads between southern Chile and the Patagonian platform were built by the Ministry of Communications under this idea, and their role is undoubtedly huge.In the future, if people on the east coast continue to expand north along the central valley (almost certain), then the Ministry of Communications will definitely still plan suitable mountain passages and build roads in the valley to strengthen various exchanges between people on both sides.

On the Pampa Plain further north, people on the east coast are also working on a more ambitious plan to build a railway across the Andes to connect the Chilean region with the Pampa Plain.The starting point of this railway is Cordoba, then all the way west across the Andes, arrives at Santiago, and finally continues to Valparaiso, a port city on the Pacific coast with very good conditions, the outer port of Santiago.

If you then connect the railway from Yancheng Port to Cordoba, the railway from Nancun Port (via Buenos Aires) to Cordoba, and the railway from Cordoba that people on the east coast have already begun to imagine If you go north into the railway of the Chaco Plain, you will understand how strong their determination is to communicate with Chile and Shandong!

Among them, the city of Cordoba, which is the hub node of various railways, has basically determined that it will be the capital of the Eastern China Republic in the future, at least the political and cultural capital.From the map, we can see that if you start from Cordoba to Chile, the distance is very close, and it is also very close to the eastern core area. It is an ideal place to build a capital.And once the place is captured from the Spaniards in the future, the executive committee will start the construction plan of the new capital immediately, and then move the capital step by step, and slowly move various departments from Dongfang County to alleviate the local crisis. Somewhat overwhelmingly stressful.

The establishment of Córdoba as the capital is the result of careful consideration by the executive committees of successive dynasties. It is very important to maintain the status of the two oceans on the east coast. It can greatly eliminate the psychological barriers between the people of Shanxi and strengthen various cultural and economic exchanges. make people better united.

Of course, Cordoba is still in the hands of the Spaniards, and it is also one of their important trading towns and one of the cultural centers of La Plata.If the people on the east coast want to seize it, they still need to wait for a suitable opportunity, such as the opportunity of chaos in Europe.

(End of this chapter)