Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2435 March of Suffering ([-])

"What a wonderful land!" On the banks of the Zambezi River, Tang Chengzhi took a handful of clear river water, wiped his face vigorously, and said with emotion.

The organic-rich land beneath his feet looks very fertile, and a handful of seeds can yield a good harvest.Moreover, most of the Zimbabwe plateau has an altitude of more than 1000 meters, which offsets the extreme heat brought by the low latitude.Yes, this is a typical tropical grassland climate. Even in the hottest October, the temperature will not exceed 35 degrees when the sun is at its hottest at noon, which is really not too hot.

"Such good land should not be left to others. We should really control and manage it ourselves. In the future, the supply of grain south of the yellow-black dividing line in South Africa will mainly depend on this place." Tang Chengzhi stood up and turned towards the land. Said a group of followers who were washing the horses behind them.

There has long been no doubt about the status of the Zimbabwe plateau.In short, the masters on the east bank are interested, please let the commanders of the columns think about it, and continue to go north.The cities established at this stage, the reclaimed land, and various assets stored in warehouses will be evaluated by the East Coast government according to the market price, and they will be purchased uniformly with an increase of 10%. They will definitely not suffer losses.Of course, before the East Coast government officially sends officials and immigrants to take over the Zimbabwe plateau, other people can still use it and engage in various business activities-the more land you reclaim, the more money you can sell in the future.

However, it is not far from the time when the people from the east coast are aggressively marching into Zimbabwe.The marching railway has been advancing tenaciously to the north. In 1693, it was built to Sishui Township. In 1694, the Sishui-Guangwu section was opened to traffic. In the second half of 1695, the people of Zhige Township also looked forward to the train.And at the end of 1698, after experiencing various difficulties, the marching railway finally opened to traffic in Guanghui Township amidst the attention of everyone.

From 1699 to the first half of 1670, due to the untimely allocation of transportation lottery and local funds in South Africa, the progress of railway construction was slow, and only a section of Guanghui-Zhoulou (located near the small town of Gianni in later generations) was barely completed.Since the second half of 1670, many departments have been held accountable due to the poor work of clearing up the local aborigines, and the funds for the marching railway have been allocated quickly. As of now (August 1701, 8), the marching railway has been extended to the north In the newly established Qinglin Township (located near the small town of Pafuri in later generations), preparations for the railway bridge across the Limpopo River have also begun.

According to the data from the East Coast Department of Transportation, the Xingjun Railway (which merged with the original Nyi Seng Railway) started from Ng Seng Port and went to Qinglin Township. The total mileage has reached more than 670 kilometers, which is amazing.At this point, a large amount of materials—well, if the lords above are willing to allocate them—and personnel can disembark at Yicheng Port, and then go west and north via the single-track railway, all the way to the far north.The journey has become less difficult and easier, I don't know how many times!

Of course, people and materials can also stop at any place in the middle.Now the Nghe Seng District Administrative Office has completely changed the direction of their work. In the past five years, they have been very concerned about the construction and immigration along the Marching Railway. For this reason, many towns have been established, and several of them are now quite prosperous.

The newly established towns are: Xiangtian Township (located near the later town of Malelane), Apple Orchard Township (located near the later town of Sabie), Qutian Township (located near the later town of Hartsview) , Yangtai Township (located near the small village of Mapulanguene in later generations), Quhe Township (located near the small town of Welverdiend in later generations), and Hood Township (located near the later town of Hoedspust), a total of six settlements At this point, a total of nearly [-] immigrants were arranged to settle in wasteland.

Don't think they are small, and don't ask why only six settlements have been established. The Anti-Justice Cheng District Administrative Office has done its best.They only have so many resources, and it is difficult for a smart woman to live without rice. They can only lay a solid foundation first, and wait until conditions permit in the future to expand the population of these settlements and further increase the output of agriculture and animal husbandry.

Fortunately, the National Development Bureau and the Immigration Department have now realized their difficulties after listening to some opinions from the Yicheng District Administrative Office.In the 1701-1702 fiscal year, they will allocate an additional 30 yuan in cash and various materials worth almost twice this amount to support the plan of the Yicheng District Administration to develop the marching railway line-now everyone knows that the east bank will " Soon "war will break out with the Kingdom of Spain. At that time, there may be countless Indians or mestizos who need to be transported away. No matter how imperfect the marching railway line is, waiting to be scolded?

"Before the plateau of Zimbabwe becomes a granary, we may have to turn both sides of the marching railway into a granary." An expert from the Ministry of Geology who was invited by Tang Chengzhi to explore said with a smile: "Whether it is transporting immigrants or minerals, You have to go through that railway. The two sides of the railway are bare, and I am afraid that its efficiency is greatly wasted."

"Let's leave that matter to the Yicheng District Administrative Office and the State Development Bureau. Let's cross the river first and see what the north of the Zambezi River looks like." After speaking, he waved his hand and stepped on a small wooden boat.Behind him, the entourage also tidied up the horses one after another, leading the horses to board wooden boats.

It is the marching column (second column) under Jose Moreno who operates the shipping between the ferries. It currently has about [-] people. It has persisted on the north bank of the Zambezi River for a long time, and established two There are two cities, namely Leon City (located near Chirundu City in later Zambia) and Vigo City (located opposite Chirundu) along the river.Along the way, Tang Chengzhi and others found that a large amount of farmland had been reclaimed on the outskirts of the two cities, where crops such as corn, potatoes, sorghum, cassava, and sweet potatoes were planted, and many cattle and sheep were raised, but they all looked skinny. .

Zongbo City, about [-] kilometers east of Leon City, is the site of Yang Zhongzhi's marching column (third column).There are still more than [-] people in the department, and they are currently transforming the swamps (these swamps were all submerged into rivers after the construction of reservoirs in later generations), planting crops including rice, and developing aquaculture at the same time, desperately supporting themselves.Fortunately, their ability or luck is not bad. Under the repeated attacks of indigenous people, hunger and disease, although the column was greatly reduced in number, it persisted in the end. Zongbo City, a city built of wood and adobe Having withstood the blow of wind and rain, we will have further capital in the future.

And hundreds of kilometers west of Leon City, near the later Zambian Livingston City, a city named Onda has also sprung up.The city, controlled by Jorge Martinez of the First Column, is also currently undergoing arduous agricultural production work.The quality of their land is relatively average, but it is considered fertile after burning, and after several years of tending, it can already produce a large amount of grain stably.These precious grains not only nourished the lives of more than [-] soldiers and civilians in the Ministry, but also gave them hope to continue to persevere in the local area.But this is not their end point. In the future, they will use this as a base, continue westward, go deep into the barren land, and snatch some of the inland hinterland of Angola that the Portuguese have not yet controlled, as one of the places where they established their country.

There is no doubt that they are definitely unwilling to continue to toss in terms of nature.After all, this society already has its own city - although very primitive - and its own land, and it is indeed a bit difficult for them to leave all this and go west and enter those terrible forests, grasslands or swamps.But people have to bow their heads under the eaves. Jorge Martinez, who has already taken the Chinese name Hao He, must understand this and know the pros and cons of it, so it will depend on his control ability later.If you can do it, you will be the king in the future, if you can't, you will have to change!

After Tang Chengzhi and his party crossed the hundreds of meters wide river, they arrived in Leon City smoothly, a city with a slightly messy layout.And because of the lack of food and daily necessities, the life of the local residents does not look very good, the clothes are worn out, the faces are colorful, and many people are still suffering from diseases-the natural environment of the primitive tropics is not so friendly-but at least , People's spirits are not bad.After all, in this land, they are the real masters, they can control a lot of things by themselves, and they are no longer the inferior group who suffer discrimination and oppression on the east coast.

Jose Moreno, who has changed his name to Jose, personally led the main civil and military officials to greet him.Tang Chengzhi and others did not bring any condolence goods, which made him a little disappointed.However, being so sophisticated, he soon cheered up again, and flattered Director Tang Da so much that Tang Chengzhi frowned.

But our Director Tang also understands their difficulties very well.The easternmost Sloppy Army has established a country, and this country has been invested by people from the east coast for several years, with a total population of more than [-]. Compared with their columns that have not yet completed their march .Who wouldn't want to be king?Who doesn't want a taste of calling the shots?Even if it's just a puppet king who takes orders from the east bank's advisers, he's one person under ten thousand people, isn't he better than the bullshit commander-in-chief who looks like a bandit leader now?

But there is no other way.Sloppy life is good, he was born in the Eight Banners of the island and he has a very close relationship with the officials on the east coast. In addition, the transportation conditions in his fief are relatively convenient, so it is not surprising that he is the first to develop.Don't be jealous of them yet, everyone has been staying here on the north bank of the Zambezi River for several years, and has accumulated a little wealth. The fourth column in the back has also been fruitful in farming on the Zimbabwe plateau. Yicheng area also invites them Helped to shepherd more than [-] head of cattle and sheep, ready to support at any time.Then, the opportunity to continue north is almost ripe.

Zambezi River, probably not long!

(End of this chapter)