The sun never sets in America

Chapter 334 Xianbei: Development and Cossacks

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On the railway that stretches for thousands of kilometers, a white and red train is "roaming" at a tortoise speed of 25 kilometers per hour.

Most of the entire Xianbei Railway, more than 2,000 kilometers long, is at this speed. Only in slightly warmer areas such as the coast and the North Sea, it can climb up to 40 kilometers, and then nothing further.

The reasons given are also very simple, weather and geography.

Among them, weather is the biggest influence. Most of the entire Xianbei Railway is in cold areas. Although it has been as close to the river as possible, it is ultimately limited. Compared with the entire Eastern Siberia, although the climate is warmer than Central Siberia, the soil is not easy to change. It becomes a swamp, but it belongs to a low-latitude area after all, and coldness is the unchanging nature of this area.

Along the entire Xianbei Railway, the most common ones are not stations, but maintenance stations.

What is a maintenance station? If it is placed in the mainland of Han, it is a place dedicated to repairing machines. It is a simple maintenance plant along the line.

But in Xianbei, it is the "emergency repair station".

The purpose of emergency repairs is also very clear, that is, in extremely cold weather, the train crashes, and even the rails are frozen and deformed due to the extreme cold.

When necessary, he has to act as a snowplow, and even because of this, a steam snowplow code-named 5499 was specially developed.

As for the latest internal combustion engines, they are still in the stage of small-scale trial production in the market and are basically in the "experimental" stage. It is estimated that it will take several years to mature.

(At the end of the 19th year of Longwu, the first tractor operated by an internal combustion engine was put into trial production in Tongshan City, Jiuyuan. Due to technical reasons, although the response was great, not many people bought it, and improvements are still being made.)

The entire Xianbei Railway has a total of 23,200 employees, making it a veritable pillar industry in the Xianbei region.

You must know that according to statistics at the end of Longwu's 19th century, the population of the entire Xianbei region is about three million. Compared with the earliest two million, this is at least an increase of more than one million.

This mainly originated from the immigrants from northern China. With the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's several northern expeditions, the entire Han Dynasty was affected by this wave of immigrants.

Among them, Xianbei is the party that has been hardest hit apart from the mainland.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Northern Expedition was like a "meteor shower" to the Xianbei region, which truly brought the seeds of civilization down from the sky.

You must know that according to previous statistics, most of the more than two million people in the Xianbei area are indigenous. There is even a joke that millions of indigenous people unite Xianbei.

But with years of persistent immigration, the entire Xianbei population structure has undergone tremendous changes.

Of the population of more than three million, two million are indigenous, one million are Chinese, and other immigrants from Japan and Japan.

Although the indigenous people still make up the majority, they have lost their original "style".

Most of them are concentrated in border towns.

What is the border town area? It mainly refers to the area bordering Xianbei and Russia. This area is also called the border town area because there are more than a dozen "bunker" cities stationed in it, most of which are border troops.

At the earliest time, tens of thousands of troops were stationed in the entire border town area, and there were 200,000 reserve soldiers, which could be described as a sharp knife on Russia's back.

Because of this border town, Han and Russia often bickered and even had several small-scale border conflicts.

Although this "small" is compared to the strength of both sides, and the actual maximum scale is even more than 800 people, but with the "cooperation" between China and Russia, this large-scale thermal weapons melee is described as a A "misunderstanding".

In recent years, especially with the signing of the Three Emperors Alliance, this border area has even begun to experience so-called attrition.

The Russian army on the opposite side is also doing the same thing, which is also part of the Three Emperors Alliance.

The two sides have set up "markets" in the border areas to conduct trade, and even some goods that are in short supply can receive tax exemptions.

Although the tax exemption with Russia is a joke, it has indeed opened up sales for industrial products in the Xianbei region.

The best-selling products are "hardware tools" and resold textiles from Japan.

The main reason for these two reasons is the industrial backwardness of the entire Siberian region.

If Eastern Europe is a market, then Siberia is a naked "colony" in the territory of the Russian Empire.

The region provided the Russian Empire with minerals, timber, gold, and even large quantities of furs.

Even in the last war, the Tsar took away 25,000 young men from places like Siberia, leaving a region with a population gap, especially young men, and a shortage of two women. degree.

As for whether those young people have come back, Han State has the most say, "no".

Because according to the instructions of the highest level of the Han Dynasty, prisoners in Eastern Europe can live, and those in big cities can live well, but miserable places like Siberia cannot live.

After all, these people are all young and strong. They come back alive and have children. More than ten years later, the population has doubled again. Once a fight comes, they will be the real "enemy".

The Han Empire has always been cruel to its enemies and will not leave any room for them.

…………

"Snapped!!"

A whip was swung out, and a line of blood appeared on the thin back of the slave on the ground.

Song Shijie's throat squirmed a few times, and finally he turned around with a smile and said to the long-bearded man next to him:

"Mr. Piano, you are stronger than I thought. You found the robbed goods so quickly!!"

"This is a little thought, please accept it."

Song Shijie took out a check and handed it over. Opposite him, Piano stretched out a thick hand the size of a cattail leaf fan and stuffed it into his leather jacket without looking at it. Then he revealed a mouth full of yellow and black teeth:

"Mr. Song, there is nothing we can't do in Western Siberia. If you have anything else to do in the future, come to us."

“You will definitely be satisfied!!”

Listening to the accented Russian, Song Shijie smiled reluctantly, and then left with an excuse. He really couldn't bear to stand this kind of behavior of "humiliating" slaves and getting pleasure.

In his opinion, this kind of behavior is simply "barbaric".

Song Shijie, who lived in a wooden house, looked at the snowy weather outside and estimated that he would have to stay again today. He could only tell his men to watch the goods carefully and not "lose" them anymore.

Although he knew that it was impossible to throw it away in this Cossack camp, the experience of being bitten by a snake made Song Shijie choose to be "conservative".

In other words, it was made for those Cossacks.

The oil lamp lit by seal oil kept flickering, and the cold air outside followed the cracks in the ground, causing the air in the house to drop a lot.

Fortunately, the Cossacks are still smart, and through the smoke exhaust design, they can keep warm in such a simple environment.

Song Shijie was lying on a soft couch sewn with deerskin, his whole face turned red from the cold because he had just gone out to relieve himself.

"L!!"

The pocket watch in my hand keeps turning because it fell into an ice cave yesterday and was fine when I fished it out. But it is like this today.

Song Shijie fluctuated several times, and finally found that the time was always five minutes ahead of the original, no matter how many times, it was like this.

Song Shijie guessed that there was something wrong with the gears inside.

"Ugh!!"

Song Shijie rubbed the old-fashioned "dog head" pocket watch in his hand. It was a birthday gift from his father when he was fifteen years old. He still remembers what he said when he gave it to him:

"Time is like running water. Looking back in an instant, the boy turns gray!!"

But now, before he has grown old, his father is no longer here.

After rubbing the dog's head pattern a few times, Song Shijie tightened the sheepskin on his body and prepared to "sleep."

"Bang bang!!"

Before sleeping for two minutes, there were constant knocks on the door. Song Shijie grabbed the red pistol on the corner of the couch, tucked it behind his back, came to the door, opened his mouth and asked: "Who??"

There was no answer for a long time, and just when he was about to leave, the knock on the door rang again.

"call……"

Song Shijie exhaled and gently opened the door. As soon as he opened it, he pushed the gun out. Then he heard an "ah" sound, and a woman wearing sheepskin on her upper body and deer boots on her lower body "trembled" appeared in front of him.

Thank you for your hard work, he stopped quickly, otherwise someone would have died.

When the Russian woman wrapped in sheepskin walked in, she took off the sheepskin directly, rolled into the soft couch, and covered herself tightly.

Song Shijie stayed for a long time before getting on the bed.

He understood that this was the "temptation" of the Cossacks.

Soon, there was a friction sound, accompanied by a cry of "pain".

"You are..."

Song Shijie asked the Russian woman beside the couch in fluent Russian. He did not expect that the other woman turned out to be a "perfect body."

This was something he didn't expect. After all, in his mind, it would be strange for a woman to be good after entering a ghostly place like Cossack. Even in his eyes, it was expected that these Cossack bandits, who were said to be "eating people", would even invite him to eat people together.

But I never expected that such a woman, a "virgin", would appear in the most unlikely place.

The woman huddled in the sheepskin and said nothing. She just made a "bang bang" heartbeat that could be heard vaguely.

"what's your name??"

Song Shijie lay on the left side and asked the Russian woman on the right side.

"Harina..."

After a brief sentence, there is no more content.

Song Shijie thought for a long time and then asked: "Does it hurt?"

Halina was silent, and finally squirmed a few times in the sheepskin, finally acquiescing.

For a long time, neither Song Shijie nor Halina spoke, until Song Shijie seemed to have thought of something and asked Lana:

“What will they do to you??”

What responded to him was Ha Li's innocent eyes, obviously not understanding what Song Shijie meant.

Song Shijie didn't say anything in the end and just fell asleep.

Halina, on the other hand, looked at him carefully for a few times before getting into the sheepskin.

.........

"Mr. Piano, happy to work with you!!"

"Mr. Song, happy cooperation!!"

Early the next morning, because the snow had stopped, it was time for Song Shijie to set off.

The bearded Piano also came outside the camp to see him off.

Looking at the pigtails on the back of the Cossacks' heads, Song Shijie said nothing. He was just a little curious as to why these barbarians liked to have pigtails.

No matter how big or small, they have to stay? ?

"Mr. Song, she is yours."

When Song Shijie left, Piano gave him a woman, who was the same Lana as yesterday.

Looking at Halina in sheepskin, Song Shijie pulled out a few high-end Han Chinese cigarettes from the deer cart and gave them to Piano, which made him "thank you" repeatedly and even said with a smile that he should give them to a few more women. This can be exchanged for more "deliciousness".

Although he didn't understand the "behavior" of the other party's transaction, Song Shijie still said that he would bring more "delicious food" next time he comes.

When Piano heard this, he patted his strong shoulder hard and said with a smile:

"Next time you come, I'll treat you to "tender meat", they are more delicious than mutton!!"

Song Shijie didn't understand what tender meat was, but kept saying that he "must" try it next time.

Halina, who was sitting on the deer cart, shrank her neck in fear. Apparently, she had seen this tender meat before.

When everything ended, Song Shijie set out to return to Beihai.

In fact, banditry is not that rampant in Siberia. After all, many places there are no-man's land. We want to replicate the "I own this mountain" situation like in East Asia.

I'm afraid we have to wait until this damn place is full of people, but will Siberia do that? ?

There may be, but it is definitely not now or in the future, but in a dream.

.............................................

As soon as he stepped into the gate of the border town, Song Shijie felt what "freedom" was and what "civilization" was.

If Western Siberia is a wasteland and Central Siberia is "hell", then Eastern Siberia under the control of the Han State is a paradise for a few regions.

There is no so-called "grizzly bear" here, and there is no so-called "inspection", there is only "enthusiasm" and "noisy".

Although they spent most of their time by boat, this did not mean that Song Shijie lived a happy life. In fact, every time he passed a place, he had to collect a tax, which made him feel like "a wild goose plucking its feathers."

(In Siberia, river transportation is faster than trains)

The local Russian patrol police, like hounds in black leather, are constantly searching for the scent of "ruble". Businessmen like him who bring a large amount of goods have become the best targets.

In the end, I spent a thousand rubles to buy a so-called pass, which ended my fate of being robbed constantly.

But when we were about to leave Kanto, it was still inevitable that those greedy Shiba Inu dogs on the Russian border would take a bite.

After all, corruption is a Russian tradition, just like blood, and it will be difficult to solve even for future generations.

"Song, is this the Xianbei you are talking about??"

“It is indeed more prosperous than Siberia!!”

On the deer cart, Halina looked at the market, the people coming and going, and the dazzling shops with all kinds of goods. She was like a "glowing" lantern fish, looking around for something to shop. shop.

Song Shijie turned to look at Halina and replied with a smile:

"No, this is the worst place in the entire Han Kingdom. Jinshan is a hundred times, no, a thousand times better than here!!"

Halina, who has lived in Siberia since she was a child and made a living by hunting, really can't believe that there are "a thousand times" cities like this in the world.

She would rather believe that you are Song Shijie's nonsense.

Song Shijie didn't care about Halina's thoughts. After all, he had seen Jinshan and grew up there. He knew what it was like there.

He even knew that it was the largest city in Han Dynasty, even surpassing Xijing.

While Song Shijie was dealing with the "animal skins" and "golden beads" he brought back, the Xianbei Governor's Mansion far away in Beihai was discussing Xianbei's future construction.

…………

"In my opinion, the right way is to go all out to engage in heavy industry. If we engage in other industries, given our weak foundation in Xianbei, it will be difficult to keep up with the development of those areas."

"Developing heavy industry is our only way out."

Huang Canyongcan, the director of the Beihai Administrative Office, is a staunch heavy industry faction, or the Beihai faction, because once the plan for heavy industry is established.

As the Beihai Administrative Office with the best geography, the best climate conditions, and the most extensive resources, it will definitely receive the most funds and benefits.

This is something everyone can understand, so after he finished speaking, the objections continued.

"It's a joke, let me ask you, do you know how much it will cost to develop heavy industry??"

"A steel plant can build a dozen textile factories and dozens or hundreds of light factories. Do we have so much money??"

"Also, even if the heavy industry is established, who will sell the steel, coal, and machines you produce? Is it possible that they will be sold to the indigenous people??"

Officials in the Kamchatka region have the loudest objections. The fundamental reason is that the Kamchatka region is close to the sea. It is possible to develop some light industries. However, due to resource constraints and population, heavy industry, which is slow to produce results and requires high investment, has always been their fault. repulsed.

The new Xianbei Governor Lu Tuo looked at the scolding battle in front of him and remained silent until everyone could no longer scold him anymore before he spoke:

"Heavy industry is feasible, but not feasible!!"

It seemed like he had said everything, but he said nothing, leaving the people around him confused.

Lu Tuo calmed down for a while, and then continued:

"Japan's resources are poor, and heavy industrial products are mostly transported locally over long distances. Tens of millions of steel products are imported every year, as are machine parts."

"If we capture this market, we can barely sustain it."

Hearing Lu Zuo mention the Japanese market, everyone present's eyes lit up.

Lu Tuo took a sip of tea and then said:

"Japan alone is not enough to support heavy industry. In the final analysis, we still have to find a market."

"Have you forgotten about the next door..."

After Lu Tuo finished speaking, he said nothing more.

The people around were "lively" for a while. After all, they could not even think about transporting industrial products to China. After all, the world has always been dominated by local products.

(Southern China basically only sells Chinese and British products, even French products are squeezed out)

It was not until the end that Lu Teng said again:

"In the land of China, the iron-making technology is weak. Now that the war is raging again, there must be a serious shortage of iron. If we can occupy this market, in the future, it will be a golden rice bowl that can feed hundreds of thousands of people!!"

Lu Teng was very calm, but there was also a "thunder" in his calmness.

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(End of this chapter)