Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2191 March of Suffering ([-])

Glory City, December 1692, 12.

Glory City is an administrative division that does not exist in the official establishment of the East Coast Republic of China. It was established by the Yicheng District Administrative Office. The superiors do not recognize it. To put it bluntly, it is a black area.But the black area belongs to the black area. After all, there are more than 2 people living here, and the agricultural and handicraft activities are relatively developed, so they cannot be ignored at will.

Glory City is roughly near the later city of Phalaborwa in South Africa. The residents living here are mainly Indians and Mestizos who immigrated from the New World, and the island Eight Banners assigned from Xinhua Island.People on the east coast once conducted a statistics on them. There are more than 9000 Indians, more than 7000 Mestizos, and more than [-] people in the Eight Banners of the island. The economy is mainly based on agriculture and animal husbandry. Production capacity of daily necessities and weapon maintenance capacity.

From these population structures, it can be seen that Glory City is a city used to temporarily accommodate a large number of immigrants.The reason for saying temporary is that Glory City is not their final destination. Their final landing place is still thousands of kilometers away, and there are many difficulties and obstacles, and how many poisonous insects and beasts are waiting for them.

These immigrants from Glory City have been living here for more than a year.According to the plan, they will set off again in the first half of next year, pack their bags, bring cattle and sheep, and arrive at the Limpopo River Basin under the escort of the army trained by the people from the east bank.They are no strangers to these migratory activities, because before that they landed in Yicheng area, and then went northward from Chenggao County, and continued to forge ahead.

Before leaving Chenggao County, they were detained by the Yicheng District Administrative Office for several years. They were used to clean up the primitive and wild environment in the territory and build houses and roads. The Whistleblowers fought very hard.It's not that they didn't try to resist, but the people on the east coast stationed a large number of troops around, and the militiamen from various counties in South Africa were dispatched to guard in turn, so any resistance is doomed to be futile-you can't expect that you can't even produce ammunition yourself, The refugee groups who need parts from the east coast for weapon repairs have little resistance.

Yes, that's right, these people are basically migrant groups.It's just that under the organization of the East Coast people, their lives are relatively better (the food supply is relatively sufficient), and their weapons are relatively better. During the whole process, elite scouts from the East Coast Army will inquire about news and map routes for them.

Years after the guidelines of the yellow-black dividing line were put forward, the actions of people from the east coast to migrate islands and Indians to the Eight Banners in southern Africa finally stopped being slow and procrastinating.After the latest relocation funds of 50 yuan were in place, the Yicheng District Administrative Office also had to set an example by purchasing a large amount of food, livestock, weapons, medicines, daily necessities, and other supplies, and distributing them according to tribes and families. A large number of cavalry infantry were in place to urge these people to continue northward.

The plan formulated by the East Coast government is called the "March of Suffering" plan.The central government will allocate a special fund of 100 million yuan (through the issuance of public bonds) every year, and South Africa’s Hezhong, Yicheng and New China Pioneering Team will jointly allocate a fund of 50 yuan to support the in-depth implementation of the plan.

The annual fund of 150 million is quite a lot. After all, these people are not idle in production. They will stay for a period of time whenever they go to a place. One is to rest, the other is to wait for the arrival of follow-up materials, and the third is to take the opportunity to produce Some food, vegetables, and fruits, to expand the number of some cattle and sheep populations, lay a solid foundation for the next stage of the march.

For example, they stayed in Glory City for more than a year.During this period, three crops of grain were harvested, and the number of cattle and sheep also increased greatly, and the overall economic strength was enhanced a lot.Of course, they didn't do nothing during their stay. Under the organization of the East Coast people, they cleaned up the nearby natives, and the environment was improved to a certain extent, laying a good foundation for the construction of the road behind. .

The so-called road under construction is a railway, which is invested by the Ministry of Communications, with an annual investment of 100 million yuan, partly solved by the transportation lottery, and partly squeezed out of funds from other projects.The Nghe Seng District Administrative Office is delighted with this sudden project. Their Ng Seng Railway has not been open to traffic for a long time, and they owe a lot of debt for this, and are worried about how to develop in the next stage.As a result, the happy pie fell from the sky, and the Ministry of Communications decided to build a "marching railway". This railway started from Chenggao Town and went northward through Yangdi Township, Sishui Township (located near the later Komatiput City), Guangwu Township (located near the later town of Skukuza), Zhige Township (located near the later town of Gothenburg), and finally arrived at Glory City.

Yangzhai Township is a subordinate township of Chenggao County. It currently has more than 5000 residents, and its economy is not bad.Due to the use of a large number of captured black laborers, more than half of the 40-kilometer journey from Yangzhai Township to Sishui Township has been completed, and the rest is under intense construction, including a railway bridge.

Next year's plan is to build a bridge to Guangwu Township, including several railway bridges (fortunately, it's not too difficult, because the river is not wide), the construction period is still very tight, and the goal may not be completed, so I can only say try my best.Before the completion of the railway, the only way to transport logistical materials to these immigrants was through carts and mules and horses, just like the Boers who went deep into the interior of South Africa with all their belongings.

Of course, there is a world of difference in the transportation capabilities of railways and horse-drawn carriages.Therefore, the higher-ups attach great importance to the construction of this marching railway, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they will spare no effort at all costs.Now that the mainland has La Plata, there are a large number of Indians and Mestizos that need to be cleaned up, not to mention the overpopulated areas like Paraguay that need to be cleaned up in the future.Therefore, the marching railway must be built as soon as possible, and the longer the better, so that the cleared immigrants can go farther and get closer to the yellow-black dividing line.

The empty space left by the immigrants was naturally filled by people from the east coast.Now the local government has also come up with a certain policy in this regard, that is, to buy the land, farmland, repaired buildings, etc. cleared up by the immigrants through currency and material redemption, and then resell them to the resettlement people through mortgage loans. Immigration to the East Coast - this process may require some state financial subsidies, but not too much, about 30 to [-] yuan per year.

At present, about 2000 people from the east coast have been resettled in Sishui Township, who live on planting and animal husbandry.Guangwu Township has resettled more than 1000 people, and it also focuses on agriculture. Zhige Township has not yet formally settled immigrants. It is still a large-scale material storage base, guarded by some militiamen on the east coast.

To be honest, the Yicheng District Administrative Office has a bit of a problem with the arrangement of the superiors, because it is tantamount to forcibly changing their development direction.Their original plan was to cross the hilly mountains in the west of Chenggao County, then enter the inland plateau area, and march towards Johannesburg, South Africa.For this reason, they also set up several new settlements in the west of Chenggao County, namely Xiawo Township (located near the inner city of Mbabane in later Swaziland), Yilong Township (located near the inner city of Mankaya in later generations) ) and Xiyu Township (located near the later Nhlangano City) three settlements, a total of about 2000 people were resettled.As for the plains in the core area of ​​the county, only one Heshu Township (located near the later Great Bend City) has been added in recent years, and more than [-] people have been released, which shows its determination to move westward.

Now the Executive Committee feels that the Indians, Mestizo people, and the Eight Banners of the Islands cannot live for a long time on the state-owned farms and construction sites in the Yicheng area. After making up their minds to speed up the settlement at a high price, their westward dream seems to be shattered , must shift the main energy to the construction of the northern marching railway and the establishment of settlements along the line, which undoubtedly makes them very unhappy-does the vast gold mining area in the west have to wait for the people from the south to occupy the river in the future?

Fortunately, Xiao Jingzong, the commissioner of the Yicheng District Administrative Office, is a qualified government official and rarely discounts orders from his superiors.In addition, he is currently active and wants to take up a post in the Far East, so he is particularly afraid to make trouble at this juncture.A few months ago, the Regional Administrative Office held a special meeting for this purpose, focusing on discussing the work arrangements for the next stage. The meeting clearly stated the principle of "stop westward and divert northward", and focus on investing regional resources along the marching railway. The establishment and construction of related settlements.

They plan to relocate more than [-] residents in batches to Sishui, Guangwu, Zhige, Guanghui and other townships next year, after ensuring the normal construction of the old settlements, to enrich the local population, improve the local economy, and rush to repair some roads , so that it can be connected with the railway to form a network, and further exert the effectiveness of the main artery of the marching railway.

In addition, Yicheng and Chenggao counties also have a population of more than [-], and their economic strength should not be underestimated. The security team system should be rectified.The establishment of the local garrison is currently being applied for. I believe that obtaining approval will not be a problem. The military strength in the Yicheng area will be further strengthened in the future, and this will still be very helpful for the difficult march plan.After all, it would arouse great resentment when you forced those Indians, Mestizos, or Island Banners to keep migrating like the Boers.At this time, the military deterrent force must keep up, otherwise it may not be able to effectively subdue these guys who often fight with black people.

Of course, they don't need to bear the heavy pressure of suppression.After the power of the Karma Kingdom was basically wiped out, the army can now free up its hands. In the future, a whole mixed regiment will be dispatched, supplemented by security regiments rotated from several counties. What else can the Indians do? Dissatisfaction can only be buried deep in my heart, or vented to the black tribes I met along the way.

Besides, in order to carry out the difficult marching plan, the people on the east bank have fully allocated the 150 million annual financial appropriation starting this year. The land they robbed and the houses they built will also be evaluated and purchased. Various military supplies, people's livelihood Supplies are also provided at a low price, and sometimes there are even some free medical tours.Overall, the treatment is quite good, and it is not driving them to death as some people who incite dissatisfaction say.Do not believe?Look at the hundreds of thousands of Central Asians, Persians, and Middle Eastern Arabs who were forcibly driven by the Mongols to settle in China. They traveled thousands of kilometers. Did the Mongols take good care of them along the way?

So, everything is set off by "peers".Although the name of the plan of the people on the east coast is called "March of Suffering", it is far from the point where they cannot survive.The property of some of them has even increased slightly. If the people who escaped on the way are not counted, the total population has not decreased significantly, which is already very good.

Another thing worth mentioning is that the East Bank government is also recently studying whether it can go deep into the inland areas along the Zambezi River, where Portuguese agricultural estates are relatively dense.The advantage of this route is that there are ready-made supply points, and at the same time, the route is shorter, which can reach the Zambia area of ​​later generations more quickly.At present, this route is still under discussion, and there may not be a conclusion in the short term, but it is likely to be an alternative in the future.

The difficult march plan, now it seems, may really be entering the fast lane!

(End of this chapter)