New World 1620

This time the return of the European trade fleet gave the whole community a shot in the arm.

There are now enough imported ingredients in warehouses in Brooklyn's industrial district to last for many months to come.A large number of European commodities that enrich daily life, after being despised by the residents for how backward they are, they bought a lot of them with joy.

In view of the bottlenecks in various aspects of material import, the cash income from the previous trades cannot be consumed at all, and it is not safe to put it in Hero Port, so in addition to leaving some reserve funds, the Spanish silver dollars returned with the fleet this time are as high as 70 as much.Liu Xin, the former middle-level manager of the futures company who succeeded Shi Wenbo as the head of the community economic management committee, had the idea of ​​establishing a community central bank.

A large amount of materials imported from Europe has greatly enriched the various livelihoods of the current Manhattan community, and it has also accelerated the recovery of various industrial technologies and industrial mass production in the Brooklyn Industrial District, which suffers from a shortage of specific raw materials.

Low-level industrial products such as soap, soap, matches, pencils, glass, metal tools, and cement have entered the stage of small-scale mass production after the initial solution of raw materials, production processes and equipment, and the production cost has gradually decreased. Now each The monthly output is enough to fill a 400-ton galleon with sails.The munitions manufacturing workshop forcibly promoted by the military department has reached a theoretical production capacity of 1500 21B1 flintlock rifles per month. If you work overtime, this number can exceed 2000.

Although the quantity seems to be huge, apart from arms, other commodities are far from enough to supply the market of the Kingdom of Portugal, a small country on the Iberian Peninsula, not to mention the other powerful trading countries headed by Spain and the Netherlands. As far as the products are concerned, it is simply a big gold mine with only Ding nodding exposed.

However, the high-intensity trans-Atlantic voyage has caused several sailing ships to show wear and tear of various sizes. Ren Changle had to let the Mayflower, which had the most voyages and the most wear and tear, after consulting Adelaide. And the Santa Maria docked for repairs, and the other ships were docked at the shipyard wharf for simple maintenance.

The more than 300 European refugee immigrants who came with the boat were instantly divided up by various departments of the community. Even 30 able-bodied refugees were selected by the military department, and they were prepared to be recruited directly into the land garrison after they adapted to life in North America for a period of time.The navy even selected 70 sailors of European origin who had been identified by Adelaide from the nearly [-] sailors who returned with the ship.

At the end of the division, less than one-fifth of the European farmers, women and children were sent to West Point to enrich the production and colonization there.The newly expanded immigrant residential area in the south of the Brooklyn Industrial Zone was immediately allocated by the immigration department led by Li Xiang.

However, starting from this group of immigrants with pure indentured slave status, the community committee no longer provided living and accommodation for free, but signed a loan contract with everyone, and they would repay all the immigration settlement expenses through work.

Only those with the best performance will be able to clear their status as contracted slaves in advance and convert them to temporary residency rights, and only after passing strict examinations can they be converted to formal residency rights.As for the more distant permanent settlement and the theoretical ultimate citizenship, it depends on their luck.

And the first batch of veteran crew members who joined the Manhattan community and obtained formal or permanent residency, under the envious eyes of fellow Europeans, proudly brought their family into the north of the Brooklyn industrial area. A beautiful neighborhood by the river.

Inspired by large voyage bonuses, these precarious European sailors who have been wandering at sea for a long time have different consumption concepts, and they do not hesitate to buy a beautiful single-family apartment with a garden and lawn for themselves and their families.

·

On August 8, Zheng Quan, the military commissar who led a group of officers to inspect the military affairs of West Point Town and won a victory, finally returned.The first thing Zheng Quan did when he came back was to look through the various reports that Su Zining brought back from this large-scale trade voyage.

After learning about the current situation in Europe, Zheng Quan, who has always had some ideas, also specially convened a special military meeting to discuss the military development plan for the coming year.

However, after the last unhappy community committee work summary meeting, the military construction projects and appropriation of funds and materials proposed by Zheng Quan and others on the committee once again withstood a criticism. In the end, the Navy’s fifth enterprise-class light cruiser "West Point" and the construction of the sixth "Discovery" was postponed indefinitely, in preparation for the construction of ocean-going clipper merchant ships and inland river transport ships for transatlantic trade between Europe and America.

The land garrison's Wisworth hexagonal rotary gun was also temporarily delayed, which made Chen Liwen's long-awaited fortress gun replacement plan aborted.As compensation, the Land Garrison was approved to form another European infantry platoon.

What is gratifying is that even though the tit-for-tat confrontation this time was more intense than previous meetings, Zheng Quan and others finally accepted the result of the collective vote and showed a surprising cooperative attitude.This made Su Zining, who was attending such an important meeting for the first time, a little uncomfortable.

In the past, almost everyone in the military department, such as Zheng Quan, had to give in to whatever they wanted, but this time it was obviously different.

Before dusk, Zheng Quan found Su Zining alone who was about to get off work, and took him to the "Phantom" bar with an irrefutable attitude, opened a small private room, and specially asked the boss Guan Yun to cook and prepare a few side dishes.

Regarding the bloody battle in West Point Town a few months ago that resulted in the death of three traversers, Su Zining was silent for a while, while Zheng Quan looked into the young man's eyes seriously from beginning to end.

"During today's meeting and after the meeting, you have been avoiding me, Xiao Su." Zheng Quan filled Su Zining with wine, raised the glass himself, and smiled, "Zhou Kemin and Zhu Xiaoli seem to have grown up a lot. I really admire your handling of several incidents in Europe, it seems that Lao Qi did not choose the wrong person in recommending you as the team leader."

Uh... how do you know I'm avoiding you?Su Zining clinked glasses with the other party in embarrassment, and sat very cautiously, like a pure young man of literature and art.

"Okay, don't keep your words in your stomach. Yan Xiaosong is better than you in this respect. I heard that he went to the Ming Dynasty to run away from Chinese immigrants. You guys, you dare to say, think, and do it. .But I absolutely agree! At the next meeting, I will give my full support to move forward with this preparation!”

As he said that, Zheng Quan quietly glanced at Su Zining's ecstatic expression, sighed softly, put down his wine glass, and said in a more serious tone: "Before you set off, I hesitated for a long time whether to keep you, but Facts have proved that your choice is right, maybe Lao Qi's choice is right."

"I chose it myself." Su Zining suddenly raised his head, smiled and looked at the old soldier in front of him, no longer the unprepared expression before, "I am me, and I am responsible for my own actions. Director Qi used to be me. boss, but after a catastrophe, I'm just a member of the community."

"Well, the spirit of ownership is like this. You left me a letter at the time, and I thought you didn't plan to go to Europe." Zheng Quan nodded with a smile, and tapped a finger on the table, "I'm curious , Why did you give this letter to me instead of Lao Qi or Liu Lao? It stands to reason that they should read those contents more than me, and they also have the ability to promote these."

"You mean the democratic election system of community committees?" Su Zining smiled shyly, looked down at a table of untouched dishes, and lowered his tone, "I didn't know that I would be so impulsive at the time, I think you soldiers should be more We have an obligation to protect our common people."

"Then why did you leave another letter for Mr. Liu at the same time?" Zheng Quan quietly looked at the bookish young man in front of him, "Don't you trust them?"

"No!" Su Zining raised his head with an extremely serious expression, "I'll dare to call you Big Brother Zheng. If you and Mr. Liu hadn't stepped forward, maybe the group would have collapsed in the days of the catastrophe. This shows that you are a People who attach great importance to the interests of the collective. But our collective, after going through the most difficult stage, should use the wisdom of more people instead of continuing to follow the old bureaucratic system. Yan Xiaosong may be a bit extreme, but the politics he expressed The appeal is precisely the broad will of our collective people.”

"Oh? But the military department I control is the powerful group that everyone is most afraid of now. Isn't it the opposite of democracy on another level? You expect me to promote democratic reform?" Zheng Quan smiled, noncommittal.

"No, I think the current situation is not the original intention of you and Captain Chen. You are just expressing your enthusiasm and participation with your own work habits, which is the same as how we want things to be. It's just that you have more Organizational." Su Zining spread his hands with a calm expression, "I believe that even those former dock workers have their own initiative, but they just won't accept what is imposed on them. How important it is, but now is the motivation for them to continue working hard!"

Zheng Quan stood upright silently, and occasionally nodded his head. When Su Zining finished speaking, he suddenly sat up straight, his eyes lit up, and his voice was low: "Then why did you emphasize in your letter to Mr. Liu that we must be excluded from the community committee?" Soldiers can achieve real stability and democracy!"

Staring blankly at the military commissioner in front of him, Su Zining sighed secretly, knowing that this day had finally come.

"You think about it first, but I can tell you that it's not about me and Mr. Liu having something in private, but talking on the table. Mr. Zhong, the judicial committee member of the legislative team, was also present." Zheng Quan's tone softened, and raised his voice. Pointing to the young man in front of him, "You, Xiao Su... Maybe you can tell from these two letters what is on your mind. It's really painstaking..."

"Well, how far have you compromised with each other?" Su Zining let go of his heart instead, smiling calmly.

"You gave me and Mr. Liu each a choice that seems to compound our own positions, and then let me and Mr. Liu exchange compromises with each other, and then realize your political wishes? Are we soldiers not members of this group? Qualified to participate in democratic politics? Should it be played by democracy and politicians?" Zheng Quan laughed loudly and drank his wine in one gulp.

"Before departure from Azores, Zhou Kemin and Huo Qian also asked me this question, but I didn't answer them, because I knew that convincing them had the same meaning as persuading myself, and it was just a self-explanation." Su Zining sighed He took a deep breath and stared blankly at the wine glass in front of him.

"Then how are you going to convince me? Could it be that I, Chen Liwen, and Wang Tiehammer are the kind of warlords who play with power?" Zheng Quan looked at each other with great interest, and felt that this young man was more interesting than he thought.

"For the future generations of all of us." Su Zining's face darkened, he grabbed the glass and poured it all down his throat. The strong corn wine stimulated the sensory nerves, coughing violently, his face flushed, "Brother Zheng, you and Chen No one has any objection to how the captain and the others behave! But, how many years can we live? How many years can we maintain our true colors? Can you guarantee that the leaders of the army will be as selfless as you in a few decades?!"

Zheng Quan was taken aback for a moment, but the wine glass in his hand did not put down for a long time.

"If the new generation of people who grow up are used to or are forced to get used to this kind of rules, will they take the military as a kind of political capital and pursue it crazily?" He said while coughing, "If one day, my grandson, or someone else's grandson, commanded the army to control the entire country, and even pointed a gun at the head of your descendants, would you still be so confident that you are now Choice? As far as I know, there is no genetic guarantee of personality."

Zheng Quan put down his empty wine glass, stood up slowly, walked to the window on the side wall of the private room, opened the window leaf, quietly looked at the sparkling river in the distance, thoughtfully.

"We are pioneers. We measure the land, build homes, and teach farming skills. We want our offspring to be at ease and prosperous, to be able to open up more good land, grow more crops, and live a happier life. Instead of giving They planted a landmine that was secretly hidden, so that they will step on it one day." Su Zining finally recovered from the hot stimulation of alcohol, and stood up, "The history of military intervention in politics is not only to resist external hostility, but also to resist external hostility. It’s an underlying mistrust of the people inside that builds up over generations.”

"As long as the military participates in politics, as long as it is institutionalized, it can also play a better role in national construction and avoid the situation you mentioned." Zheng Quan turned around, this time his heart is no longer a contempt, but a serious one. He put forward his own point of view, "The stability of democratic politics lies in institutionalization and transparency. Our social reforms have also proved this point."

"Yes, institutionalization can indeed restrain all unfavorable factors as much as possible, but this does not justify military participation in politics. Because the democratic system itself is a mechanism for sharing power as much as possible." Su Zining smiled and pointed Pointing to himself, "Brother Zheng, if I ask to be in charge of an army in peacetime, and even command an army when a war breaks out, will you agree? Maybe you will say that I am blindly involved."

Zheng Quan was taken aback again, and seemed to understand a little bit.

"Weapons and military power! Mastering the most violent institutions in a country is the greatest political power given to soldiers by the system, and it is also the aspect that soldiers are best at. Soldiers gain command of the army, officials gain administrative power, and parliamentarians control legislative supervision. They are all democratic. The principle of power sharing under the system. In fact, soldiers are not excluded. They are part of the system. Only by being strong can we truly ensure that our lives will not be messed up one day. People who only have political appeals may only express themselves from a selfish perspective, but people with a sense of political responsibility should understand how precious sharing is.”

After finishing speaking, Su Zining bowed slightly, turned and left the room, leaving only Military Commissioner Zheng Quan still in thought.The moment the door was closed, Su Zining felt his back was wet with sweat.

Inside the house, after a long time, Zheng Quan let out a long sigh.