Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2144 Three Fires ([-])

Shao Yaoguang had lunch in the restaurant downstairs at noon.

Now let alone leaders at their level, it is the senior officials and cadres who are one level lower. Their daily food and drink are provided by individuals or companies with long-term cooperation, which is the so-called "special supply".This is not to say how good the special food is. In fact, it is mainly considered from the perspective of safety. The company that has cooperated with it for a long time knows the bottom line, and will not be infiltrated by someone suddenly, and then cause a huge case.

After a simple lunch, Shao Yaoguang ordered another cup of tea and smoked for a while, and then, with the secretary and the guards sending him off, he took a carriage and headed towards Dingyuan along the historic No. [-] Highway.

It has actually been 60 years since the construction of Highway [-].Back then it was a barren grassland, with the Big Fish River meandering beside it, and there were some sparse forests not far away, which made it uncomfortable to watch.Later, in order to connect the colonial stronghold of Dingyuan Township, the original East Coasters started the construction plan of Highway No. [-].In that wild era, Highway No. [-] was paved with gravel and yellow sand, and after a simple hardening treatment, it instantly became the highway with the largest traffic volume on the east coast.

Today, Highway No. [-] has undergone continuous widening and transformation, and it can be said that it is no longer what it used to be.On both sides of the road are densely populated residential buildings, shops, and factories, and the road surface is also paved with asphalt - there are two sources, one is the by-products of the coking plant, and the other is transported back from Huaiyuan Island (Trinidad) - driving The vehicles on the road have also undergone tremendous changes: the most common mules and horses in those days have disappeared, replaced by heavy trucks driven by tall Sharmas.Of course there were also many privately owned carriages, not surprising in a capital where dignitaries are everywhere.

But a carriage is a carriage after all, no matter how luxurious and stylish your vehicle is, people will be used to it for a long time.The most eye-catching thing today is actually a new thing called bicycles.In fact, this kind of bicycle has appeared many years ago. At that time, it was a mixed structure of wood and iron. People sat on it and pushed the vehicle forward by touching the ground with their feet.It is worth mentioning that the bicycles at that time did not have brakes, so it was very dangerous to ride them downhill.

Qiang Xiaoman, a well-known financial broker on the east coast, is very fond of new things like bicycles.When it first came out, I bought one to ride it, and I walked around on the ground with both feet all day long, ostentatiously passing through the market, and was ridiculed by many children in the big courtyard.But ridicule is all ridicule, Qiang Xiaoman really got involved with bicycles. He spent money to buy shares in the factory that produced bicycles, and actively participated in the daily operations of the factory, constantly coming up with ideas to help the factory improve bicycles.

R&D is undoubtedly very expensive.But Qiang Xiaoman was very persistent, and kept investing money in it, and finally increased his shareholding to more than 60%, turning a small shareholder into a controlling shareholder.However, the company he invested in, the BMW Bicycle Factory, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Their latest new generation of bicycles has been sought after by the market to a certain extent. Hundreds of them have been sold in Dongfang County alone. It started to turn around slowly.

The new bike uses a crank and linkage to connect to the rear wheel, so it is now possible to pedal the bike forward.Moreover, a braking device is installed on the rear wheel of this car, so there is no need to feel like flying when going downhill, and there is no need to worry about the butt falling into pieces.

Sitting in the carriage, Shao Yaoguang quietly watched these bicycles passing by slowly, secretly sighing in his heart that the development of the East Bank is really changing with each passing day.Driven by a suitable system, uninterrupted capital investment, and driven by profits, various new technologies and new things are constantly emerging, and the whole society has entered a fast lane of development, and the degree of industrialization is continuously advancing in depth. .And this may also be the root cause of the East Coast Republic's ability to maneuver around the world and even call the wind and rain.

The carriage drove steadily and fast on the wide asphalt road, and it only took about two hours for them to arrive at the famous Dingyuan Military Academy.Dingyuan Army Officer Academy is the only military academy on the east coast that trains middle and lower-level officers (lieutenants). It has six departments of infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineering, transportation and intelligence. A holy place in the minds of military officers.

Shao Yaoguang came to Dingyuan Military Academy today not to inspect the teaching of this school, but to visit a special group currently studying in the school, that is, 50 students from northern Italy.

Half of these students are from Venice, and the rest are mainly from Genoa, Tuscany, Milan and other places. Most of them are between 20 and 30 years old, just in their prime.As the chairman of the Executive Committee of the East Bank Republic, Shao Yaoguang is very clear about the ins and outs of these 50 future military officer seeds coming to the East Bank. Outdated military system, in order to improve its combat effectiveness as soon as possible.

Of course, this study abroad plan is also the result of discussions between the East Coast government and the northern Italian states.The industrial and commercial development of those Italians is not bad, and they are relatively rich, but they have always been short in military and political terms, and have been coveted and bullied by Spain, France, Austria and other countries for two centuries.Of course, among these states, the army of the Republic of Venetia, which has a population of more than 200 million, is still relatively capable of fighting. After all, they have long fought against the Ottomans on the coast of Dalmatia and the islands off the coast of Greece. Military traditions are not counted. Poor, but the combat effectiveness is not bad, as evidenced by the 20-year brutal war with the Ottomans in Crete.

But Venice is a small country after all. After fighting against the Ottomans for so many years, although they killed 40 soldiers and civilians, their own wealth was also exhausted, and their national strength was greatly weakened.That is to say, after all these years of comprehensive cooperation with the East Bank, they have recovered a little bit of vitality by acting as the agent of East Bank products, and the treasury can finally stop racing.

In the Northern Italian Federation that the people on the east coast had envisioned, Venice and Savoy were the two countries as thugs, and the army was mainly formed with these two countries as the main body.The two commercial cities of Genoa*a and Lucca are relatively wealthy, so as the party providing funds, and considering Genoa*a's good sailing tradition, the future federation navy can be considered to use their personnel as a team.As for Milan, because there is a large-scale arsenal in Europe, and its industrial foundation is good, it can be used as a federal factory to provide support, provided that the people on the east coast help them get rid of the control of the Spaniards.The remaining small countries such as Tuscany, Parma, and Modena have no traditions and do not have too much money. They can only join the federation as "ordinary people". I am afraid that there will not be many seats in the federal parliament in the future.

There is no doubt that it will be difficult to persuade the disjointed states of Northern Italy to form a unified federation, but the East Coast government does not hesitate to work hard to promote this matter.No, after using many means and tricks, they finally persuaded Venice, Genoa* and other countries to send 50 young soldiers to the east bank to study and learn various modern military knowledge.But unfortunately, the Principality of Savoy did not know how to do it, and rejected the proposal of the people on the east coast.Even though they were beaten up twice by the French in the last year or two, and lost nearly [-] soldiers, they didn't think about it.People on the east bank once speculated that the Principality of Savoy had signed a humiliating peace agreement with the French. Perhaps it was the influence exerted by Paris that finally made this country with a little fighting power choose to reject the east bank.

But in any case, without Savoy, this thing has to go on.Not to mention, the study abroad program for people on the east coast is not only held for one year, but every year, in order to try their best to train more Italian military talents.At the same time, they have to sign arms purchase contracts with the northern Italian states. On the one hand, it is to attract work for their domestic arms factories and stimulate the economy, and on the other hand, it is also to enhance the military strength of the Italians.After all, it is obviously inappropriate to use a fire stick after learning something new.

Shao Yaoguang had already participated in this matter when he was the current prime minister, and he was very interested.After becoming the chairman this time, I am even more motivated to fight, and I must push this matter forward.After he came to Dingyuan Military Academy, he went directly to the training ground next to the school without any delay, and carefully observed the training conditions of the 50 Italian academy students.

These people are organized into two platoons, which will be undergoing queue training.Of course, this is not something like walking one, two, one, but a kind of training with the nature of school examinations.I saw a few instructors holding military sticks in their hands, and a person with a higher rank stood at the front, delivering various simulated combat commands, such as "enemy cavalry come from the front", "enemy cavalry come from the rear" and so on. How adaptable these Italians are.

Shao Yaoguang looked at it for a while, and felt that these Italians were okay, at least most of them knew how to complete various tactical actions according to the infantry drill code.However, it's one thing to be on the training ground, but quite another to actually fight.Maybe in a few days, when the military academy invites a serious cavalry unit to come over for simulated training, even if they know that these cavalry will not really charge towards them, these Italians will panic and panic.You know, the Savoys were crushed by the French cavalry. The poor thousands of infantry who were waiting in battle were defeated by the French cavalry with less and more, and they were defeated in one blow. In the end, they paid a heavy price of 4000 dead, Duke I also had to bow the knee and surrender to the French, which can be described as a shame.

Venice has also been at peace for many years, and the veterans who had combat experience back then are withering day by day.The last time the Ottoman Empire defeated Vienna, the Venetians took advantage of the situation to expand on the Dalmatian coast. After fighting for several months, they found that their combat effectiveness was not as good as before.I believe that if the Ottomans over there were already frightened, the Venetians might not be able to take advantage of the Dalmatian coast.

"Venice and Savoy are both going downhill. It's a pity. The best ones look like this, and the others can't be counted on. It seems that this matter must be done quickly and persistently, otherwise I'm afraid It won't work." Shao Yaoguang thought: "Of course, this matter has to be coordinated with politics. Northern Italy has been divided for so long, and each country has its own little calculations. It is also a troublesome thing to say, alas."

(End of this chapter)