Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2436 March of Suffering ([-])

April 1701, 8, sunny.

The weather is relatively cool today, perhaps because it is at the end of the cold and dry season.From April to August every year, Zambia belongs to the cold and dry season, and the climate is the lowest at this time, especially in July.In later generations, in the southern part of the Western Province of Zambia, there was an extremely low temperature record of minus 7 degrees at night, and generally it was 10-10 degrees.In the eastern and northern regions, except for the Muqinga Mountains and the area along the Malawi border, the lowest temperature is roughly between 13-[-] degrees.The weather is fine at night, the heat dissipates quickly, the temperature will change drastically, and there may even be frost in some areas, although it only lasts for a few days to ten days.The true year-round frost-free may only be in parts of the Northern Province and Luwapula Province.

People from the east coast experienced the severe temperature difference between day and night on the Zambian plateau during camping yesterday.The sharp drop in temperature caused most people to take out the military blankets to keep out the cold. There is a lack of medical care here, and if you catch a cold, it will be a big trouble.However, according to an aborigine who served as a guide, the temperature will rise rapidly in seven or eight days at the latest, because the climate on the Zambian plateau is about to enter the hot and dry season.During the three-month hot dry season (September-November), the temperature will quickly climb to more than 9 degrees. In October, the hottest Luangwa Valley can even reach 11 degrees.However, at night, the temperature in this place will drop to about 30 degrees quickly, and the air humidity is not very high, so people are not uncomfortable, especially for foreign colonists like the people on the east coast.

After November, the Zambian plateau has entered the warm and rainy season.Pay attention to the word "warm". The reason why "hot" is not used is because the temperature in Zambia during this period (from the end of November to the beginning of April of the following year) is actually 11-4 degrees lower than that in the hot and dry season.Although the point of direct sunlight has moved southward, the hot sunlight is largely covered and weakened by the Congolese warm and humid air from the sea, making the overall temperature in the warm rainy season even lower than that in the hot dry season—but the temperature difference between day and night in this season is also relatively large. Smaller, because heat dissipation at night is also affected by thick clouds.

The Zambian plateau is not as hot as people on the east coast imagined!

To be honest, Tang Chengzhi is a bit regretful now, and he even wants to suggest to his superiors to reconsider, take down the Zambian plateau, directly control it, and continue to push the yellow-black dividing line northward, to about 10 degrees south latitude.He felt that if people from the east bank came, they would definitely be able to run Zambia well and become an economic hot spot where people live and work in peace and contentment.

But he also knew it was just a thought.Changing the yellow-black dividing line is a plan that comes directly from the highest authority, has many departments involved, and has done a lot of work. The difficulty is not ordinary.This first requires members of the executive committee to decide to change the location of the line, and then to re-publicize the Mestizos and Indians, and then allocate more funds and materials. Yicheng, Hezhong, and New China will also complain. Experts from all walks of life on the east coast served by these future Jianguo columns will also have to make new plans. In short, it is a big toss.

That's all, that's all!We must give these five people some benefits.Leaving La Plata, which has a mild climate and fertile soil, the Zambian plateau would not be too much for them, and it should be able to calm their inner grievances a little.After all, they are not so emotional puppets, they are real people, and it is too late to remember everything!

They crossed the Zambezi River on August 8 and only stayed in Leon City for one night.During the period, he handed Jose a check of 20 yuan, and explained that it was donated by a newly established charity foundation in the East Coast.This fund is called the Africa Hope Fund, and its purpose is to find a new home for the Indians and Mestizos stranded in the New World in Africa. It has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars so far, and most of them are citizens and enterprises on the east coast. donations.

Jose was a little happy about this. He thought he had nothing, but he got thousands of dollars.Although the use of money in the area of ​​the Zambezi River is far less than that of real goods, money is money. As long as people are sent across the Zimbabwe plateau to purchase at the Qinglin Township Railway Station in the south, they can still get a lot of goods in exchange.Even, if you don’t think it’s too expensive, you can also purchase from pocket merchants on the east coast who have traveled long distances here. They accept cash and money orders, but they have to pay a little interest difference.

José, who was in a good mood, selected 50 capable cavalrymen in the army, and asked them to be fully armed to escort the East Coast Expedition Team to explore northward.Tang Chengzhi expressed his gratitude for this and did not refuse.After working in the yellow-black dividing line for so many years, he already knew how to deal with these people, and also knew how much these people could not do without the assistance of the East Bank.

Today is August 8, and they have crossed the mountains in the south and entered the location where Lusaka, the later capital of Zambia, is located.But at this time, there is no famous "Copper Capital" here, only the endless grass and lush woods.A large number of wild animals live in it, giving people a feeling of a wild world.

Of course, this is indeed a wild world, and the aborigines living in it are also barbarians, at least the people on the east coast think so!The barbarians near Lusaka have been cleared twice by Jose's cavalry, and now almost no one dares to continue living here.What's more, Jose's cavalry would still come and wander around from time to time, because Commander Jose He took a fancy to this fertile plain with a large area.In the future, once the people from the east bank order to go north, he will immediately occupy this place as the core area of ​​his future kingdom.

Regardless of Jose's character and skill, at least from this point of view, Tang Chengzhi believes that he still has merit.There are many theories about the cause of the Zambian plateau in the east coast, but there is one thing that is more consistent, that is, most of the plateau was developed on ancient rocks.It is characterized by relatively rich mineral deposits, but the soil texture is relatively general.At this point, it is quite different from the situation in the fertile fields of the Zimbabwe plateau in the south.The plains near Lusaka appear to be an exception, though.The various nutrients in the soil here are relatively balanced, which is conducive to the growth of plants.Moreover, due to the improved climate at high altitude, a large number of temperate crops can be grown here, which is very similar to the Zimbabwe plateau in the south.

Of course, Jose's people had to figure out how to cut down trees and clear the woodland before they could start planting crops such as wheat.Zambian plateau, according to the observation of people on the east coast, the forest coverage rate is extremely high, maybe five-sixth of the area is covered with trees, and the rest is grassland and water surface.

There are also two types of local forests.The first type is called "forest", and its characteristic is that the upper forest layer is closed, the middle layer is dense undergrowth, and the lower layer is generally shrubs.The second type is called "forest land". The upper tree canopy is not closed, the middle layer is relatively open and not dense at all, and the lower layer is grassland. This kind of woodland generally extends into grassland woodland.

The vegetation around Lusaka is the "woodland".But even so, it is still a huge project to develop it, and it is not known how much woodworking equipment will be consumed during the period.At this point, the experience of European colonists in North America has already told everyone what it feels like to cut down trees and cry. They really envy the La Plata Plain in the hands of the people on the east coast—the tree Too much can actually become a burden. What kind of rhythm is this?

The East Coast Forestry Department once sent people to investigate the forest resources of Zambia and found that there is a lot to do.There are a large number of red sandalwood, Zambian teak, East African mahogany, bagel, etc., all of which have potential export value, and there is still a large demand for them on the east coast.It's a pity that this place is deep inland, and the transportation is inconvenient. Many resources will only continue to sleep here for a while, and cannot be exchanged for money.Just like the mestizo people in Leon City, the precious Zambian teak wood was used to build houses, floors and furniture, and even used to burn charcoal-the people in Leon and Vigo did indeed It is a large amount of charcoal used to boil water and cook food, so that a charcoal burning industry has been produced, and hundreds of people make a living on it.

However, the greatest wealth near Lusaka is definitely not forest resources, but minerals.According to the reports of the fifth and sixth prospecting teams sent by the East Coast Department of Geology, the East Coast government is now very convinced that there is a large-scale lead mine, zinc mine, silver mine and manganese mine nearby (located in the later Kabwe, originally Named the New Broken Hill Mine), it has great mining value.After all, minerals such as lead and zinc are relatively scarce on the east coast, and the demand is also great. If the output of this mining area can reach a certain scale, then it is conceivable that the people on the east coast will definitely control it in their hands— —According to unconfirmed news, a senior executive of the state-owned Wolong Nonferrous Metals Company has bought a boat ticket to Yicheng Port next month. He will lead a team to inspect the mining area in person. If it is really valuable, he will buy it immediately Down mining rights.

"The future development of the Zambian plateau is restricted by energy (later Zambia mainly uses electricity from hydropower stations in neighboring countries), and transportation, and the latter is particularly deadly. If minerals cannot be transported out, what is the use? We still have to build railways. It's just this Railways cannot be considered alone. After all, there are three columns entering Zambia, and the fourth column is still resting in Zimbabwe. It is not clear where to go in the future. This route is complicated.” Standing under a huge red sandalwood tree, Tang Cheng Zhi said with emotion: "By the way, Sanchez, has your commander decided to name the city to be built here?"

"Think about it." The captain of the cavalry guarding the people on the east bank replied: "It's called Lusa Akas, because there is a tribe that was wiped out by us here called that."

"We must get rid of the bad habit of using phonetic alphabet language." Tang Chengzhi taught: "The name Lusa Akas is too long and too awkward, and it does not conform to the standard of Chinese, your future official language. Language habits. Change your name to Luca, tell Commander Jose for me, and he will consider it."

It is said that the only official language of the country established by these five marching columns in the future is Chinese.For this reason, their upper-level figures have now changed their names. Some such as Sloppy and Yang Zhongzhi took Chinese names directly, and some such as Jose and Hao He took transliterated Chinese names. In short, a movement to de-Spanishize has already begun. .

"The mining area in the north is called Hezhang. It is a famous lead mining area in ancient Chinese history. Lead is generally associated with gold and silver, and many other rare metals. This is a great fortune. In the future, Chinese enterprises will come. It can create a lot of jobs for you, pay a lot of taxes, and probably bring you a railway. This is a good opportunity, you have to seize it." Tang Chengzhi finally said.

(End of this chapter)