Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 229

On September 1639, 9, the naval exploration fleet of the Republic of China on the East Coast returned to the Ottoman Empire Port of Suez after making a large circle in the Arabian Sea.After a brief handover with the Ottomans, two ships of the East Coast Exploration Fleet carried a large amount of cargo and a dozen officers of the Egyptian Fleet of the Ottoman Empire, sailed towards the fort in the river via Mozambique Island.

……

Now let's go back in time to a few months ago.

There was an air of merriment and peace at Castle in the River in May 1639—if you ignored the morose slaves working the fields.Thanks to the vigorous construction of hydraulic irrigation facilities during the slack season in winter, coupled with the relatively smooth weather during the planting season, the 5 mu of farmland that has been reclaimed in the past two years has harvested about 800 tons of sorghum and 200 tons of wheat. Have a good harvest.

At the same time, the output of agricultural and sideline products is also increasing rapidly.The number of sheep has been expanded to more than [-] after self-raising and continuous looting, and the number of cattle has also exceeded [-].The number of cattle and sheep is so huge, and the fresh milk of cows and sheep produced every day is huge, and the small river castle can't digest such a huge production capacity.For this reason, the town government of Hezhong Township has newly established a dairy product factory to make cheese, milk powder and other dairy products from cow and goat milk that cannot be digested every day, and export them back to feed the country.

In addition to these dairy products, the duck sheds and fish ponds that line the banks of the Berg River are also a great asset.Those croaking ducks provided Hezhong Fort with more than 500 duck eggs and a large amount of duck down and other useful materials every day; when the fish pond under the duck shed is cleared in winter, it may add more than [-] duck eggs to the warehouse. Pounds of fatty fish.

"What is the foundation? This is the foundation!" Outside Wukesong Village (named for the five pine trees standing side by side at the entrance of the village) in the east of Hezhongbao, Mo Ming, riding a tall steed, is spitting at Liu Angbi stroked, "Look, this forest of forts, majestic city walls, neat fields, herds of cattle and sheep, and high morale are the foundation! The Executive Committee and the Government Council have been asking us to take root in South Africa, Manage the part of the Berg River Basin. Now I can say that our river castle has established a firm foothold in South Africa, and the area of ​​the lower reaches of the Berg River is already like an iron barrel. As long as the river castle is still there for a day, the Berg River will be It won't change color!"

Hearing Mo Ming's somewhat impassioned declaration, Liu Ang, Xiao Baitu, Xie Hansan and others who followed behind on horseback suddenly burst into applause.Everyone smiled and recalled the years of hard work in the past few years, and then ridiculed the struggling British people in the south. They talked and laughed, and Wukesong Village had arrived.

At the entrance of the village, Sun Shengjun, director of the militia of Wukesong Village, was standing there, respectfully welcoming the arrival of several superiors.

"Oh, Sun Shengjun, why are you the bridegroom officer standing at the entrance of the village?" Mo Ming got off his horse, threw the whip to his adopted son Mo Dazhong behind him, and asked with a smile.

"Commander Mo, Master Liu, and Commander Xie, the humble posts were entrusted by the brothers, and I am here to welcome you officers. The brothers have been loved and cared for by the officers. They have lived a life like a fairy in the past two years. I still wonder if I am living in a dream. Middle. Brothers, in order to earn a living in Shaanxi, what kind of things have you never seen before? I can't escape death. After experiencing these things, I know the value of this peaceful and prosperous age. After coming to Hezhong Castle, I and my brothers have seen and thought in the past two years, and I really feel that you are a good official who thinks about everyone. The East Bank Country is really the country of all of us. Thinking about how poor we were two years ago, now we have plenty of food and clothing, the elderly are supported, and the weak are supported. This is the peaceful and prosperous world we are looking for. Today, my brothers and I are able to marry a daughter-in-law, and it depends on the love of you adults and the government. I, Sun Shengjun, am not very good at talking, so I am here today to express my attitude. Xi, everything is up to your lords!" After speaking, Sun Shengjun put his legs together and gave a military salute.

After Mo Ming raised her hand to return the salute, she walked up to Sun Shengjun, straightened the collar of his yellow khaki military uniform, and said with some emotion: "Sun Shengjun, it's really amazing that you can say such a thing today. I was a little surprised. Originally, I thought that you were a bandit in Shaanxi, killed officials and soldiers, and robbed the people. You were a vulgar warrior who could only destroy but not build. Although you are still thoughtful and clever, But I have always felt that you are too hostile to be a real soldier. Now that you have such insight, it is not in vain to teach you what I usually teach you. Good, good! Read more books in the future , read a lot to understand the truth, I am very optimistic about you!"

"Officer Mo's cultivation of the humble position, the humble position has always been deeply impressed by it. A while ago, the humble position has registered in the newly opened camp school of the Garrison Command, and plans to learn the skills of marching and fighting after a while. I always feel that what I learned in the Rebel Army (Zhang Xianzhong’s Ministry) may not be very effective in the future. From now on, the world will be dominated by guns and cannons, and this battle really cannot be fought as before.” Sun Shengjun Face said gratefully.

"It's not bad, Sun Shengjun, you have a heart." Xie Hansan also stepped forward, looked at him and said with a smile: "When the local Dingyuan Army Military Academy sent instructors to open a camp school, you were the first one to come to me. You signed up here, it seems that you are really aware of your own shortcomings. Not bad, really good! You have a heart, you are not stupid, and you have a lot of combat experience. If you study hard, your future will not be bad. .”

"Thank you, Commander, for your compliment!" Sun Shengjun was overjoyed when he heard that he was praised by a heavyweight superior.

"Okay, don't stick around here, let's all go in, I guess they are waiting inside." Liu Ang also got off his horse, handed the horse to Liu Cai behind him, and then urged several people to go inside.

At the end of last month, three transport ships including the "Abbot" arrived at the wharf of Hezhongbao under the escort of the cruiser "Chaoyong". Half of the more than 600 Persian female slaves on board were "floated" as usual.The more than 300 female slaves who were "floated" were naturally assigned to the remaining unmarried bachelors in Hezhong Castle.In order to boost the morale of the people in Hezhong Fort and enhance the cohesion of the government, Liu Ang suggested to Mo Ming that they should simply hold a group wedding for the bachelors who are going to get married.After Mo Ming thought for a while, he decided to agree with Liu Ang's suggestion, so there was such an announcement today.

In Wukesong Village, there is a school field used by militiamen for training, which is now requisitioned as a venue for group weddings.A barbed wire fence was stretched around the school grounds, and brothers from the [-]th Company of the South African Garrison stood outside the barbed wire fence in full armor to escort the wedding.

Barbed wire, rifles and sabers, such a strange scene appeared in the wedding scene, which is also a great spectacle of the Fort in the River.

The school field was already crowded with people, and hundreds of brides and grooms lined up in three rows in order.The grooms uniformly wore brand-new yellow khaki military uniforms, with large caps on their heads, armed belts around their waists, and high leather military boots on their feet. Knee-length skirts and white round-toed dance shoes on their feet, combined with their charming figure and exotic style, they also look quite seductive.

After Mo Ming and others entered the arena, everyone in the arena couldn't help cheering.Today is their big day. When they first arrived more than a year ago, they looked as if they were starving to death at any time. They couldn't even imagine such a happy day, so many people burst into tears with excitement.

Mo Ming waved to everyone with satisfaction, and then issued wedding commemorative gifts to each couple according to the pre-established procedures.Everyone's gifts are the same, which are ten yuan in cash and a house deed.

The ten yuan in cash is the money given by the Ministry of Civil Affairs to reward them for intermarriage with other races. In addition to the money, the Hezhong Township Government also issued local regulations, stipulating that every couple who have more than one child will be rewarded ten yuan for each additional child.

The house corresponding to the house deed is a newly built brick house this year. Each house has three rooms, divided into bedrooms, guest rooms (and dining room), and utility room (and warehouse). It is a house specially built by the Hezhong Township government for new immigrants. .After the last batch of brick and tile houses were built this winter, all the official residents in the Hezhongbao area finally got rid of the era of living in wooden houses and thatched houses.

Although these houses have already been lived in by the big guys, the deeds have not yet been issued.At this moment, the house deed was issued in public at the collective wedding, which made the groom officials extremely grateful.Although the brides were trafficked from far away Persia, it has been a long time, and they have already accepted the fact.Coupled with the discovery that the life here is far more affluent than in their hometown, the resistance is not so strong, and they are all happily accepting the blessings of the officers at this moment.

In the corner of the wedding scene, Second Lieutenant Lan Guo, the deputy commander of the fourth company who led the team to maintain order at the scene, spread out a table.I saw him taking a few sips from his wine glass while drawing the wedding scene in front of him on a piece of drawing paper.He had learned painting for a while before time travelling, and now he can draw with ease, and everyone's expression in the picture looks lifelike.

After Mo Ming and the others finished distributing wedding souvenirs to the last couple, Lan Guo grabbed the wine bottle on the table and took a sip, then added the last few strokes on the screen.A few golden leaves fell on the drawing paper with the wind, and the beautiful picture was frozen.

(End of this chapter)