Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2303 Country Talk ([-])

"My lord, the money has already been paid." On May 1696, 5, in a certain village outside Lanzhou City, Yuan Baodi was drinking and chatting with several acquaintances.This meeting has been drinking for three rounds, and the atmosphere is gradually getting warmer. A personal servant also walked behind Yuan Baodi and whispered the report.

The money he mentioned just now was for reimbursement of military supplies, totaling 1 taels of silver, which is a lot to say, and made Yuan Baodi very heartbroken.But what can be done?Gansu Province has not been peaceful recently, especially in Hezhou, a place where many ethnic groups live together. There have been several riots in succession recently. A Huihui named Ma Jian gathered thousands of people. It is said that they are all members of a religious sect. Linked with religion, he caused chaos everywhere, attacked and killed court officials and people, and destroyed the property of gentry.

Lintao Mansion and Hezhou Guards dispatched green battalion soldiers and horses several times, but because Ma Jian's troops were extremely mobile, and held muskets that they did not know where they got in their hands, their combat effectiveness was good. Many people were killed.Gansu Admiral Zhao Liangdong heard the news

Furious, he mobilized a new army of more than [-] horsemen, infantry, and artillery troops to assist in the suppression. It took half a year to finally wipe out the Hui army.

Once the new army is dispatched, it will naturally mean a lot of expenses.The consumption of food, fodder, and medicinal materials is trivial, and the expenditure of bullets and salaries is the big one.However, Xinli in Gansu was in a difficult financial situation, and it still relied on the joint payment of the Qin and Jin provinces. After another half a year of fighting, the finances were suddenly overwhelmed, so they had to send donations to the merchants and gentry in the whole province.As a big businessman attached to Zhao Liangdong, Yuan Baodi naturally donated 1 taels of silver, although according to his original intention, he really didn't want to pay this money.

Of course Yuan Baodi is a smart man.Although the businessman's instinct made him feel sad about the money he paid, his rationality told him that although Gansu Province is rich in resources, the people's conditions are complicated. People of Han, Mongolian, Hui, and Tibetan ethnicities live together, and each has its own demands.Hezhou Huihui has repeatedly caused troubles since the end of the Ming Dynasty, and it is still restless after this dynasty, especially when the Junggar Khanate is next to it, these people are easily incited.Yuan Baodi used a lot of coal mines in the west of Lanzhou City, and many of them were recruited by unspeakable means, so he was also afraid that these people would cause trouble, which would affect the normal operation of the coal mine.

Therefore, when the boss, Admiral Zhao, decided to send out a new army and asked Yuan Baodi to donate, he donated 1 taels without saying a word, which played a very good leading role.It is said that Mr. Zhao appreciated this very much, and once praised him in front of people close to him for "knowing the general", which made Yuan even more excited. This is a big plus. Add some convenience.

It is said that when I decided to invest in coal mines that year, although I was very optimistic, the initial investment was really not small, and it was not all my own money (many were invested by powerful people), so the pressure on my shoulders was very heavy.But now it seems that Yuan Baodi really made the right choice with this vote.The coal mine has produced coal steadily, and can provide a net profit of 6 to [-] taels of silver a year. With the increase in the number and proficiency of workers, and the gradual promotion of machinery and equipment, there is still a lot of room for growth in the amount of coal produced.Naturally, this profit also has a lot of room for growth.

And after seeing that the coal mine has become a hen that lays golden eggs, many people are envious.Of course they dare not seize the property of Yuan Baodi, a well-established businessman in Lanzhou and Xi'an, but it is possible to follow his lead in finding and investing in new coal mines.Ever since last year, merchants in Qin and Longzhou provinces in the northwest have sent people to search for mines. Some people got something and began to recruit workers and purchase machines, but some got nothing and lost their capital in vain.Even in Jin Province to the east, there are many people who buy machinery, set up industries and start mining.These people are well-capitalized, and it is said that there are well-known bank accounts behind them, and they will be extremely powerful competitors for the coal merchants in Long Province in the future.

Although Yuan Baodi is also very powerful, he does not intend to compete with these people.To be honest, he was a little worried that after everyone flocked to open mines, coal production would increase dramatically, but the price would drop. This risk had to be considered.After all, although the horsepower of steam engines in China has been slowly increasing, and other places that use coal are also increasing, is this demand consistent with the growth rate of production?I'm afraid not.Therefore, once the coal output seriously exceeds the demand, then many people who follow the trend may lose everything.

Of course Yuan Baodi didn't want to do this.Therefore, he decided to find another way to enter the downstream industry of coal, such as the manufacture of honeycomb coal and briquette stoves.He had carefully learned that the urban residents in Denglai generally used briquette stoves and briquettes to cook water and cook, and the daily consumption was huge. The company responsible for supplying briquettes made a lot of money, which is really a good thing. Business.

In addition, it is also possible for the people of Xuedong to use the coal powder washed and selected by the coal washing plant together with clay to make bricks.Nowadays, Gansu (including some areas of Qinghai, whose administrative division is slightly different from today's) is undergoing massive construction projects, and there are many places that need bricks.In addition, the imperial court intended to attack the Junggar Khanate, so many walled cities were planned in the area west of Suzhou City, which required a large supply of bricks.

Therefore, he has now decided that after a round of expansion of the coal mine at hand to meet the needs of the market, he basically suspends follow-up investment, and instead invests money in briquette and brick manufacturing companies to enrich his business. The product line of the factory is also to avoid risks and obtain greater investment returns.He has already discussed all these with the admiral's master, and at the same time communicated with all the shareholders.Because of his good performance in the opening of coal mines, Yuan Baodi successfully convinced everyone that preparations for these industries have already begun, and they will probably see the beginning of next year.

As we all know, the first thing to start a business is capital, and the second is naturally manpower.If this is not a problem in Henan, Hebei, Shanxi and other places, these provinces have been in peace for many years, the population has grown rapidly, and there is ample labor to drive them.

But it is a bit difficult in Long Province!The imperial court stationed a large army here and actively prepared for war. The strong men of the local prefectures and counties were transferred every three days. It was not easy to obtain a sufficient number of laborers who could work stably for a long time.Before Yuan Baodi took up a first word, so he recruited many workers to start work in the mine.Even so, more than half of the laborers in his mine (or slave labor is more appropriate) were captured by the Turpan Khanate and returned from various places. For this reason, he paid the officers a certain amount of money every month.Nowadays, there are swarms of businessmen from all over the country, and they are robbing people everywhere. Yuan Baodi is not confident that he can recruit enough people to work, so he still has to think of a way.

According to the latest administrative divisions of the Qing court, Gansu Province currently has jurisdiction over Lintao Prefecture (including Taozhou and Minzhou), Gongchang Prefecture, Pingliang Prefecture, Ganzhou Prefecture (including Xiningwei and other places), Suzhou Prefecture, and Ningxia Prefecture ( The former Ningxia Weigezhai), Qingyang Prefecture, and the provincial capital are located in Lanzhou.The rest is still under the jurisdiction of Shaanxi.

Of the seven prefectures in Gansu, the truly prosperous ones are actually just Gongchang and Pingliang prefectures, while Qingyang, Lintao, and Ningxia are far behind.As for Ganzhou and Suzhou, there were not many people in the pre-Ming period, and they were all bitterly cold and desolate places in the army. Although some people from the mainland have been moved here in the past ten years, they are still underpopulated.

Therefore, if Yuan Baodi wanted to get enough manpower to work in his mines and factories, he still had to find a way in Gongchang and Pingliang.But how difficult it is!You must know that in an agricultural society, people are generally bound to the land and have a direct personal relationship with the landlord.Unless influenced by external forces (such as strong promotion by the government, natural disasters, etc.), this inherent order is difficult to break.Although Gongchang and Pingliang prefectures are relatively rich, the more affluent the place is, the less likely the local farmers will go to other places. Therefore, if you want to recruit workers, you can try these places, but really don’t hold too much. big hope.

Yuan Baodi had already sent some confidantes there to recruit people, Xu's wages were not low, and the result is not yet known.Of course, he would not put all his eggs in one basket. He also carried out key researches in this prefecture (Lintao prefecture), mainly taking the route of the army, and this is the reason why he came to this village today.

The stockade is located in the northeast of Lanzhou, not very far from Ningxia Wei, and there were probably only a few hundred soldiers.However, after Galdan invaded the Qing Dynasty, Beijing ordered to renovate the fortress in the border area and send more soldiers here. Currently, there are more than [-] horse and infantry soldiers stationed in the fortress, led by a general.

Coincidentally, this general was also surnamed Yuan, Yuan Weiting, from Tianjin.Yuan Baodi and him have eight poles to barely reach such a small relationship, so the relationship between the two parties is very good. Not only are they sworn brothers, they often travel around during the New Year and holidays, and they also help each other in politics and business——Yuan Baodi Help Yuan Weiting speak well in front of Zhao Liangdong, and Yuan Weiting takes care of the trade between Yuan Baodi and the Mongols.Yuan Baodi came to Yuan Weiting's stockade today for no other reason than to find a way to get some people from him, a group of special people.

"Second brother, brother, I really can't do anything this time. The venue and machines of the Coal Ball Bureau have been set up, and now I will send someone. How about it, leave Ma Qilin's gang of gangsters to me? Don't worry, The benefits of the brothers are indispensable, so I can save this." Yuan Baodi blushed a little from drinking, and made a request to his allies with the intention of drinking.

The "rebellious party" he mentioned just now was a group of Huihui from Ningxia Mansion who rebelled because they were dissatisfied with the imperial court's excessive expropriation.The leader was a local garrison officer named Ma Qilin. He led a cavalry team of about 3000 to 400 people and attacked everywhere. Relying on the explicit or covert support of the local people, he constantly dealt with the Qing court.Yuan Weiting had also been ordered to lead troops to assist in the suppression before, and he destroyed one and captured more than [-] people.Now Yuan Baodi's idea is obviously to take these more than [-] captives away and work in Lanzhou area - of course, he will sponsor a military expenditure for this.

"Since the eldest brother has found me, there is nothing else to say. Take it. Brother, I will go north in a few days. I don't know when I will see you again. Please help if you can." Yuan Weiting raised his neck. After gulping down a bowl of wine, he breathed out and said, "The emperor defeated Galdan in the east. According to reliable sources, Galdan had an attempt to escape westward, so he ordered the soldiers and horses from the surrounding fortresses to assemble, and then made a large-scale attack. Go north out of the fortress and intercept Galdan. In just these two days, except for a few hundred people guarding the house, I will take the remaining three thousand tigers to Huamachi."

"Hiss—" Yuan Baodi slapped his thigh when he heard the words, and said, "This Galdan was majestic and majestic a few years ago, but now he has become a hair-shedding phoenix, what a pity!"

In fact, it's not surprising that Yuan Baodi was surprised, because the previous Galdan was indeed too fierce. He broke through northern Mongolia in the desert, defeated Tong Guogang in a field battle, threatened Zhangjiakou, and once panicked the entire Great Wall.However, the rebellion of his nephew Cewang Allah Butan destroyed everything. Supplementary soldiers, guns and ammunition, medicine and food from Moxi Mongolia were all cut off, and he could only rely on the intermittent support of a few Mongolian tribes who were still loyal to him.In addition, supplies were supplied on the spot in Monan and Mobei Mongolia, but this undoubtedly aroused the resistance of the local Mongolian herdsmen, and even the lamas were a little disgusted. So far, Galdan has lost politically.

And the military defeat gave Galdan the final blow.Although the Qing army was at a disadvantage in combat because it underestimated the enemy or did not adapt to it at the beginning, after slowly adjusting—especially the addition of the new Han army—the Qing army, which was more mature in tactics and more advanced in equipment than in history, gradually regained took the initiative.They contacted Cewang Arabutan to carry out a flanking attack together. In addition, the three tribes of Mobei Mongolia who had taken refuge in them continued to send people back to instigate rebellion. The Galdan tribe soon became exhausted and their morale was low. It is not difficult to understand the final failure thing.

As the saying goes, after defeating Galdan, the original ally Cewang Allah Butan basically lost its use value, and even slowly turned into an enemy of the Qing Dynasty.Kangxi could see very clearly that this nephew of Galdan was also an ambitious man. Galdan only had more than 3 riders, and even if they were all destroyed, it would not hurt the foundation of the Junggar Khanate.Therefore, if you want the Mongolian grasslands to have long-term stability and stability, and if you want to maintain the integration of Manchuria and Mongolia, it is inevitable to go west to exterminate Tseduarabutan.

Gansu, obviously, will be the gateway for future western expeditions.Of course, there is no need to say too much about the opportunities!

(End of this chapter)