Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 821 On the Bank of the Wujiang River ([-])

If it is said that Jingjiang County originally occupied two-thirds of the population of the Wujiang area, then when the time came to July 1650, 7, as the Immigration Department relocated a large number of new immigrants to the Wujiang area, Jingjiang The proportion of the county's population began to shrink sharply.

Dozens of 72-ton inland steamboats threw a large amount of construction materials and food on the shoal at the mouth of the Heihe River (River Negro), and then the [-] immigrants who had arrived here by sea boat earlier worked together , sorted these materials into categories, and moved them one by one into a temporary shelter to prevent these precious materials from being damaged by the harsh rain and snow in winter.

After these small inland river steamers unloaded their cargo, they didn't stop longer, but went up the river and headed for the city of Mercedes further upstream.Of course, this is the name given by the Uruguayans of later generations, and now the city has a new name, Suihuabao.This settlement is based on a small amount of cooked land opened up by the early Spanish colonists. There are currently [-] settlers (including [-] Spaniards), and most of the future economy will be based on agriculture.

In addition, near the later city of Dolores on the San Salvador River not far to the south, there are another seven or eight small inland steamboats carrying a considerable amount of supplies and docking on the shore.These supplies are for the construction of a new settlement here, Suiyuan Fort—another name with conquest connotations. Gein’s settlement was also developed on a Spanish manor, and currently has a total of [-] residents. There are more than a hundred people, and the economy also seems to be lackluster. In the future, agriculture and animal husbandry will be the mainstay.

Closer to home.The densely grassed and forested shoal in front of me was named Sanhekoubao on the drawings of the people on the east bank, and it got its name because it is located at the confluence of the three rivers, the Heihe River, the Uruguay River and the San Salvador River.These three settlements (Sanhekou Fort, Suihua Fort, and Suiyuan Fort) were combined with Yong'an Port in the north, and after a few years of development, they became the foundation of a county.

"Wujiang River Basin is fertile and wild, so rich!" Tian Xing, the director of Jingjiang Paper Mill and former official of the State Intelligence Agency, said with emotion as he stood on a small hill, looking at the vast grassland in the distance.He is only 19 years old this year, and his parents are both members of the public. After two years of experience in the General Administration of State Intelligence, he has now "transferred" to a local area and served as the director of the newly established Jingjiang Paper Mill.Of course, this kind of thing is just to deceive outsiders. In the view of Liao Xiaoyao, the police commander of the Wujiang area, this guy's title of director of the paper mill is purely a gimmick. The job is to keep in touch with the Kelandi people on the other side of the Wujiang River, and at the same time send people secretly to infiltrate the river area (east of the Paraná River and west of the Wujiang River), laying the foundation for the people on the east bank to fully grasp this fertile land in the future.

"As the saying goes, you can't get rich without work. The settlements in the Wujiang area have neither any decent industry nor any commercial trade. They can only plant land, herd cattle, and get rich? How can they get rich?" Liao Xiaoyao disagreed. Tian Xing's opinion, just listen to him say: "You are still young, you will know after more experience in the future. It is an old calendar to get rich by farming on the east coast! Now that the 30-year war in Europe is over, the production order has been greatly improved. Recovery, grain production increased greatly, and our original export markets began to lose one by one. The price of grain exports in the Luocha Bulk Trade Center fell in both volume and price. From the state reserve grain depot to the ordinary farmers who farmed, it was a tragedy. Ah. Those who responded to the country's call to go to the Great Western Wilderness were even more miserable. With the deepening of domestic inflation and the increase in the price of production materials, their profits have been greatly reduced, and now there is another collapse of the grain export market. , This is killing them. In my opinion, if the Ministry of Agriculture hadn't allocated a part of the price subsidy to them this time to encourage them to sell their grain to domestic deep-processing enterprises, I think none of these large agricultural contractors would If you can’t survive, the market is really cruel.”

What Liao Xiaoyao said was exactly the current dilemma of agriculture on the east coast.With the expansion of the sown area and the in-depth promotion of the three-crop rotation system (soil fertility can be maintained for a long time), the grain production of the East Coast Republic of China has increased year by year in recent years, and it has become a net grain export many years ago. country.The main export market is Europe, followed by Dutch Brazil, and there are also some scattered small markets, but they are not in scale.This time the war in Europe ended and production resumed. The first to be hit hard was Poland, the original largest grain exporter, followed by the Principality of Moscow, which exported a large amount of rye to Western Europe in recent years. Of course, the East Coast Republic was also affected. Due to the considerable impact, a large amount of grain was backlogged in Luocha Port, which caused certain losses to the interests of domestic agricultural producers.

Moreover, as the situation in Europe becomes more and more stable, in the long run, the prospects for agriculture on the east coast are bleak, and Europeans will gradually become self-sufficient in food—the central region of Italy, which was originally food-deficient, has even begun to grow high-yielding corn. crops - it will be basically difficult for people on the east coast to dump food on a large scale.As a result, it will be difficult for domestic grain purchase prices on the East Coast to remain above 20 yuan per ton. This is undoubtedly very bad news for farmers.

Obviously, the Government Council also recognized the problems, so they quickly authorized the Ministry of Agriculture to issue price subsidies to large agricultural contractors who responded to the country's call to reclaim wasteland in inland areas to support them to tide over the difficulties.At the same time, it also vigorously advocates the grain deep processing industry, that is, encourages farmers to sell grain to machine mills in various places to produce high-value-added refined flour-this still has some sales in the high-end European market; in addition, other Some deep processing industries are also being rapidly brewed and promoted to enrich the domestic food market and find outlets for these surplus grains.

Of course, there is excess food production, and the best solution is obviously to find more people to eat.And this involves the issue of immigration. Although the Executive Committee ordered the construction of more immigration ships, it will not be until 1651 that the substantial increase in the number of immigrants can be truly reflected.But if you wait one more year, just wait one more year. The national grain reserve can collect grain from the farmers at the original price, and stock it up to prepare for the large increase in the number of immigrants in the next year or two.

"Farming does not make money, that's because there are too many people farming." Tian Xing also said, "Our country now has more than 20 people, and the agricultural population accounts for more than 80%. Rural water conservancy facilities have invested huge sums of money year after year. With the construction, the maintenance of farmers’ livestock has skyrocketed, the three-crop crop rotation system has been promoted in depth, and God has also given face. There have been no disasters in these years, and the grain has been harvested year after year. It is really a ghost to make money. According to statistical laws, If the output increases by 10%, the price will drop by at least 30%. What’s more, the increase in output is more than 10% in my opinion. In my opinion, this structure still needs to be changed in the future. I think some new immigrants will be thrown to the South Forget it with the iron company, let them build roads, fish, log, and mine, it’s better than farming, I’m serious.”

In fact, the overpopulation in agriculture mentioned by Tian Xing is indeed a problem.As of July 1650, 7, if a group of Ottoman female slaves who had not yet arrived on the east coast were counted, the population of the Eastern China Republic had reached a record 10 people (Ming people also accounted for a record 23.8% , the proportion of mixed-race East Coasters has increased to 42% even after this year’s new population dilution). There are 14.5 to 3 black households and a very unstable number of slave labor—the rest remove the handicraftsmen, navy, army, and administrative personnel who eat money, and more than 4% of the population is still purely agricultural (at most to work on construction sites or forest farms during slack).

With the help of such a large agricultural population, with the help of good agricultural basic conditions, the explosive production capacity is astonishing. Wheat, rice, corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and soybeans have repeatedly harvested bumper harvests, almost becoming a sweet spot for the executive committee. burden.The trouble of overcharging everyone is troubled. Farmers' incomes are gradually declining, while workers' food expenditures are significantly reduced. The income of the industrial population has begun to significantly exceed that of the agricultural population, which is exactly the opposite of the situation many years ago.

"Now everyone has learned how to behave. There are not many people who are willing to concentrate on growing wheat and rice. Many people have started to grow soybeans, the most commercialized crop. In addition, the conditions in the Wujiang area are so good, and it is quite good to grow alfalfa for animal husbandry. Yes, isn’t the Wujiang sheep bred by the Muchang Township Breeding Station pretty good? This sheep is easy to feed, has strong disease resistance, and is well adapted to the environment in the Wujiang area. The wool yield is not low. It’s good to raise more sheared sheep. It is also a way out for farmers." Liao Xiaoyao said in a somewhat uncertain tone, "Our country's wool textile industry has not improved, of course, this is related to the national strategy. If the Wujiang District Administrative Office can have a clear development plan, then It is also good to vigorously develop the sheep farming industry in this area, at least you don’t need to swarm together to produce a lot of things that don’t make much money. I just don’t know what Commissioner Tang thinks about it, I have to ask him when I have the opportunity...”

"Raising sheep is very good. In addition, growing soybeans, grapes (for wine making), fruits, vegetables, ducks, chickens and geese are all ways. It depends on how you choose." Tian Xing looked at the other side of the Wujiang River and said. : "If it doesn't work, we can also sell some of the surplus grain to the Kelandi people on the other side, and let them log for us. The timber in the Hejian area on the other side is also very important to us. The Jingjiang Paper Mill, the first and a half in China Mechanical and semi-manual papermaking companies still have a certain demand for this aspect, so that these Kelandi people can be tied to us, and it will be more convenient to drive them in the future."

(End of this chapter)