1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 716 Yongxing
On April 1655, 4, in the evening, Yongxing County (now the small town of Adelaide River in northern Australia).

The Yongxing River (now the Adelaide River in northern Australia), which originates from the hilly area in the west, crosses Yongxing County, winds its way to the northeast, and finally flows into the North Sea (now the Timor Sea).The entire length of the river is 180 kilometers. The fertile black soil on both sides of the river is distributed with countless villages and farms, large and small, where a large number of vegetables, rice, sugarcane and corn are planted. The lush aquatic plants on both sides of the river also raise a lot of livestock.

Yongxing City, located in the upper reaches of the river, has been established for 15 years and has a population of more than [-] people.Because there are a large number of crocodiles in the Yongxing River, several meat processing factories and leather goods factories using crocodiles as raw materials have been built locally.In addition, there are several workshops and enterprises in the city, such as lumber yards, furniture factories, grain and oil processing factories, paper mills, and hardware and ironware factories, which have become important economic centers within a radius of a hundred miles.

Navy trainee officer Zhu Shanping got off the passenger carriage, looked at the sky, and saw that it was still early, so he turned and walked towards the department store in the city.

In the store, I bought some daily necessities, soap, paper, whale oil, plus a few bolts of cotton cloth brought back from Jianye City, shoes and socks, canned food, and sugar, filling two large bags to the brim.

When the night gradually fell, Zhu Shanping had already seen the vague village by the river, and occasionally there was a glimmer of light in a house.

As soon as he entered the village, the dogs in the nearby yard began to bark, and within a short while, there was a lot of barking.Some vigilant villagers lit torches, held long knives and spears, and looked out through the courtyard gate.

"Ah, you are Pingwazi!" A tall, thin middle-aged man walked up to Zhu Shanping with a knife in one hand and an oil lamp in the other. Officer!"

"Uncle Sun, I haven't officially graduated from the military academy yet, and I'm not yet an officer." Zhu Shanping replied with a smile: "This time I'll be on vacation for 20 days, and I'll come back to visit my parents."

"I heard people say that your children who come out of the military academy will be great officers in the future." The man had an envious look on his face, "Father Ni is lucky!"

Zhu Shanping walked quickly towards the home while accepting the villagers who came out of their small courtyards one after another.

When Zhu Yixiang and his Johor wife heard that the eldest son had returned from vacation, they immediately came out of the yard to greet him. His younger siblings also rushed forward excitedly, chatting non-stop around the elder brother.Before I could, I saw the two bags of luggage in my brother's hand, cheered, dragged them and ran towards the house, happily inspecting the gifts my brother brought back.

Zhu Shanping's family is undoubtedly a typical multi-children family in Hanzhou. Under him, there are two younger brothers and three younger sisters. Relying on the family's more than 40 mu (requires crop rotation and fallow) fields and more than 15 sheep, except You can maintain a life of food and clothing, and you can save some money every year.When he was admitted to the Jianyecheng Naval Academy at the age of [-], he spent almost half of the family's savings because of his mother's serious illness, which made the family a little embarrassed.

Fortunately, when he entered the Naval Academy, he would receive a monthly stipend of [-] cents. Zhu Shanping saved all of it, and would bring it home every mid-year holiday, which can be regarded as a little relief from the difficult financial situation at home.In addition, the township government will also distribute a certain amount of maternity subsidies to the family every month, mainly in kind such as grain, oil, cloth, dried fish, and meat.

Generally speaking, the whole family is well fed and clothed, but there is no spare money to spare. This is the most common and true portrayal of life in rural Hanzhou.

"Why is there so much money?" Under the faint light of candles, his father Zhu Yixiang took over 15 Hanzhou silver dollars from his eldest son, and his eyes could not help showing a look of surprise.

"Father, I was a trainee on a ship two months ago." Zhu Shanping said with a smile: "So, in addition to the monthly living allowance, there is also a part of the sea allowance, which is naturally more money than before."

"Good! Good! Good!" Every crease on Zhu Yixiang's face showed a trace of joy, he carefully hugged the 15 Hanzhou silver dollar in a cloth, and then handed it to his wife to let her put it away, "I'm still thinking about it." After a while, I will cut the wool and sell it. After getting money, I will borrow some money from Lao Li's and Lao Ding's next door to buy a plow horse. Do you know that a few years ago, the government imported It is a kind of plow horse, which is huge in size and strong in animal strength. It is a good hand in plowing the fields. Moreover, it can be harnessed to a cart and can pull a lot of heavy loads. I am thinking about getting a horse like this. They can also go to the city to help people drive and pull goods during the slack season, so as to supplement some income for the family.”

"Ping Wazi, you will be full next year. So, I have to save some money for you to help you marry a wife. I know that you will be an officer after entering the navy, and you will have a bright future in the future. As for the field at home, I guess, you are not very rare, so I can only throw it to the younger brother below you. But in the end, I can help you start a family, and I have fulfilled my last parenting responsibility. "

Hearing his father rambling about his future events, Zhu Shanping felt a little unnatural on his face, but a young girl appeared in his mind, with deep blue eyes, a small and pointed nose, full of three-dimensionality His facial features, and after rolling up his sleeves, a section of white arm was exposed.Although it is not as graceful and gentle as a Han woman, it is a little more beautiful than a girl from a foreign land.

Well, I don't know if Zhang Yongshun's sister has been promised to others. If she is married, it will be a good marriage.

"Father, the kind of farm horse you are talking about is an English Sharma that the Ottomans brought back from Europe for our country of Qi years ago. I heard that the price is not cheap. Moreover, the entire population is not large. It is estimated that there are no two horses now. A thousand horses."

"Oh, is that so? But we all call it the Beiliang horse, and it is said that it was bred on the large ranch in Beiliang (now the small town of Pine Creek in northern Australia)." Zhu Yixiang looked at the table with some distress. Looking at the wax that was dripping from the candle, I wanted to extinguish it, but thought that the eldest son had finally come back, and he couldn't talk like this, so he felt distressed and chatted with his son, "I know That horse is much more expensive than ordinary horses, but the animal is huge and strong, and the largest and heaviest plow in the village can easily pull it away. As for pulling goods, it is even more powerful, you can It can pull dozens of stones at a time. Moreover, this big animal is gentle, even a child can lead it for a few laps."

"Father, since you've already taken a fancy to it, let's gather enough money to buy one. If it's not enough, don't borrow it from the neighbor next door. You owe him for nothing. Isn't there an agricultural bank of the government in the village? You can borrow some money, and I will pay you back slowly in the future. Next year, after graduating from the military academy, you will be able to receive the official salary of the Navy. Not counting other allowances and subsidies, the regular salary will be six yuan a month. !” Zhu Shanping said with a smile.

"A few years ago, I dragged my days to repay the sheep loan from the government. If I borrow money from the government bank again, I'm afraid I will be rejected by others." Zhu Yixiang hesitated.

"Father, why do the government's banks dislike us people for borrowing money? We keep reducing their interest. Go ahead and borrow, and my son will guarantee it for you in the future!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Zhu Yixiang reprimanded, but his face was full of joy, "How can I let my son be a guarantee to borrow money? Let me tell you, I can raise you, and if you are so promising, you will be able to do so in the future." Raise the younger brothers and sisters below you in the same way, and they will be equally promising."

"How are their studies?" Zhu Shanping turned his head and looked at his younger brothers and sisters gathered together under the shadow of the candlelight, eating a can of canned whale meat one bite at a time.

"Except for the third child, they all have headaches when they read books." Zhu Yixiang glanced back at the children over there, "In the future, I don't know what it will be like."

"Brother, yesterday we saw a lot of camels passing by in the village." The eight-year-old fourth brother jumped up and told his elder brother whom he hadn't seen for half a year, "There are many soldiers on the camels, with guns on their backs. , with a knife in your hand, you look so majestic! By the way, brother, you are also a soldier, or an officer, why don’t you bring a gun? ... you don’t even have a saber!”

"Go away!" Zhu Yixiang patted the fourth child on the head, "I don't study well in school, I just go to the street to watch the fun. You know what a fart, your brother is in the navy and doesn't carry a gun. Your brother fired a cannon on the boat!"

Hearing this, Zhu Shanping couldn't help being dumbfounded. Those who fired the guns on the ship were the gunner and the gunner officer, and which position he will be assigned to at that time has not yet been determined.

"The ones riding camels should be cavalry troops exploring the deep inland." Zhu Shanping pinched the face of his fourth brother, "There are many Gobi deserts in the inland, why don't we go on camels? And, maybe we will meet When seeing ferocious wild animals or hostile natives, it is natural to carry guns and knives."
-
On May 5, Gangu (now the small town of Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia).

The camel team mentioned by Zhu Shanping's fourth brother is stopping in a river valley more than 700 kilometers south of Yongxing County. More than a hundred camels are lying on the edge of a shallow river, drinking water in big mouthfuls. And more than [-] prospectors were distributed in the four fields, collecting various ore specimens, and then throwing them into the back basket behind them.

In addition, there are two surveyors and mappers, holding a drawing board, carefully depicting the surrounding geographical environment and making detailed map marks.

There are also several agricultural experts who, in addition to collecting various plant specimens, are constantly digging and considering the soil quality under the four fields.

More than 40 cavalry scattered far away to conduct armed surveys around this temporary camp to ensure that no ferocious beasts and indigenous tribes could threaten the safety of the entire expedition team.

"Captain Yang, look at this stone." Prospecting team leader Zhu Baodong handed a piece of dark yellow ore in his hand to Yang Cheng, commander-in-chief of the exploration team and captain of the cavalry Yuwu Xiaowei (captain), "If I read correctly, it should be It's gold ore."

"What? Found a gold mine?" Yang Cheng's eyes showed a bit of surprise.

"Look at this stone again." Zhu Baodong handed another piece of ore to Yang Cheng, "The appearance is bluish green, like copper ore."

"Hey, didn't we discover gold mines and copper mines at the same time here?" Yang Cheng took the stone and said with a smile: "The gentlemen of the Ministry of Industry should have fun again."

"What's the fun?" Zhu Baodong looked up and looked around, "There are no people for hundreds of miles. Even if the mines are mined, there is no place to refine them. Is it possible to use camels to transport these ores back to the nearest mainland?" Refined in Anbao (now Daly Waters Town, Northern Australia)? That would be too expensive!"

This exploration team is composed of the cavalry unit of the military department, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the Ministry of Agriculture, and is preparing to conduct a large-scale exploration of the deep inland.The entire team has more than [-] people, mainly composed of prospecting, surveying and mapping, geology, animal and plant experts, armed cavalry and other personnel.

On April 4, the expedition team set off from Kaiyuan (now Humpty Doo, northern Australia), and passed through Yongxing, Beiliang (now Pine Creek, northern Australia), Songcheng (now Katherine, northern Australia), Linhuangbao (now the small town of Mataranka in northern Australia) and Luan plan to go deep inland for nearly 15 kilometers, and then turn east to see if they can cross the Dadong Mountain (now the Great Dividing Range) and reach the coastal area of ​​Weihai Prefecture ; If it doesn't work, it will take two months to go back the same way, and the total journey is about [-] kilometers.

After the expedition team left the lonely Linhuang Fort, it was an endless desert area, and after the last rest and replenishment in Lu'an, it was considered to have completely entered the no-man's land.Hot and dry, uninhabited, full of reptile poisons, making the journey look desolate and lonely.The vast red desert, the rough natural landscape, some giant flat-topped mountains, the mountains have no water source, and there are no indigenous tribes, which makes people feel as if they have entered the hell on earth.

Some shallow rivers are obviously mostly seasonal. If there are not enough water storage facilities, I am afraid that when the dry season comes, they will not be able to support the needs of immigrants who want to settle here.These situations were clearly recorded by the geological personnel accompanying the team, and then submitted to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Immigration Department to determine whether to carry out resettlement in the interior.

However, judging from the itinerary of the exploration team, there will be no need for immigration in the inland area south of Luanbao in the next few decades. It doesn't seem to be of much value.In the eastern, southeastern and southwestern regions of Hanzhou with better geological conditions, it is enough to develop tens of millions of fertile fields and various high-quality mines, which can fully accommodate the new immigrants of less than 10 people every year.

The most important thing is that the ultra-long-distance transportation in the inland area is completely incomparable with the convenient and fast shipping conditions in the southeast and southwest regions.The government's exploration of the inland is more about grasping the specific situation inside the Hanzhou continent, understanding the natural geographical environment deep in the inland, and the distribution of various animals, plants, and mineral resources.If it is developed, I am afraid that it will not have to wait a hundred years.

On May 5, the exploration team stayed in this place named Gangu for three days, and set up a simple camp, and arranged 15 people to stay behind.Immediately, they began to turn due east, heading towards the coastal area of ​​Weihai Prefecture, Hanzhou. If all goes well, they will climb over the low Dadong Mountain and arrive at Guangling County (now Townsville, Australia) in more than 20 days.

However, the journey of exploration may not always be smooth and smooth. Various difficulties such as poisonous insect bites, thylacine attacks, unacclimatized water and soil along the way, diseases, drought, and dehydration test and threaten the exploration team all the time.During the journey of more than one month, eight people died one after another, and more than ten people in the team fell ill, lying on the back of the camel, struggling with the serious illness in pain.

On May 5, the exploration team encountered a huge indigenous tribe near a river going east.On the east bank of the river, a low earthen city suddenly appeared in front of the exploration team. From a distance, it seemed that there were several flags painted with animal skins hanging on the top of the city.

After seeing the large-scale camel team of the exploration team, hundreds of natives holding wooden spears shouted loudly and stood in line on the opposite bank, staring at each other across the river.

"His grandma, he even encountered an evolved indigenous tribe in this river valley!" Yang Cheng, the commander-in-chief of the exploration team, drew out his saber with a grinning grin, and turned his head to order loudly: "Everyone is on guard with guns, and there is no order , don’t act rashly.”

(End of this chapter)