Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1311 Swallowing All ([-])

Mozambique was a colony of the Portuguese in later generations. Lorenzo Marquis (Maputo) was first the colonial center of Portuguese East Africa, and then became the capital of Mozambique.However, on the plane of the East Bank, all of this seems to be doomed to be impossible, because it is now under the control of the East Bank people and has been renamed Yicheng Port.

Mozambique as a whole straddles the tropics and subtropics, with a long coastline, large areas of fertile lowlands and relatively abundant rainfall, all of which contribute to the diversity of natural resources.In the history of this country, the Portuguese were attracted by precious metals and ivory in the early days of colonization, and with the development of productivity, land-climate resources began to be included in production, which is the uniqueness of Mozambique.For most colonized countries in Africa, mineral resources are the main factor for their integration into the world capitalist economic system, but Mozambique is different.The land-climate resource is decisive in the development, allocation, and "absorption" of the country into the world market, that is to say, the conditions for the diversification of agricultural production in the country are so favorable that Its land-climate resources have become the main object of colonial plunder, which shows its superiority.

Nie Seng Port is located within Delagua Bay (now Maputo Bay). Although it is one of the best harbors on the African continent, it is fair to say that the low-flat sandy coast with numerous shoals and spits is naturally not conducive to shipping. of.However, considering that it is located at the confluence of the Incomati River, the Umbrucci River, the Tembe River, and the Matola River (now called the Maputo River), it is a typical estuary delta port with a deep inland hinterland. Therefore, in history, after excavating the nine-kilometer-long Polana Canal (which deepened the waterways of different depths in the bay to nine meters), it became one of the best harbors in Africa and greatly promoted the development of Los Angeles. The development of Renzo Marquis—but in the middle of the 17th century, according to the draft of ships on the east coast, the shallowest water depth of 5.5 meters in Dragua Bay can also be sailed, and there is no need to dig additional deep-water channels at all.

The open and calm harbor, coupled with the high tide of 2-4 meters, is enough for the people on the east coast to develop for a long time, and it has become one of the two keys for the people on the east coast to control the Mozambique Channel.Moreover, from an economic point of view, the hinterland of this port is vast. In addition to including the southern part of Mozambique, a considerable part of South Africa is also one of its hinterlands.In the future, once the mineral-rich eastern South Africa is occupied and a railway leading directly to Yicheng Port is built, the rich coal, gold, asbestos, and even livestock in South Africa can be transported back to the east coast through this port. It is undoubtedly crucial, and this is actually the reason why the local executive committee ordered to seize Ngai Seng Port from the Portuguese. Without him, it is related to the strategy for the next century, so I have to occupy it!

People from the east bank occupied Yicheng Port last year. After the navy led by Minister Li Yi wiped out the Portuguese fleet, Xiao Baitu sent a partial division ashore to take care of the few Portuguese colonists in Lorenzo Marguis, and then declared it grandly. The land occupied this fertile land - but at this time the Portuguese did not think it was so fertile, their colonial center of gravity was in the Zambezi River basin - and moved the first batch of immigrants here: a thousand immigrants from Canton Most of them are Dan people and their families.

Undoubtedly, these new immigrants from the Ming Dynasty are more adapted to the climate of Yicheng Port. It is located at about 26 degrees south latitude, and the annual average temperature is about 22 degrees, which is almost the same as Guangzhou (but the temperature fluctuation range is smaller than Guangzhou. ); the annual precipitation is about 800 mm, and it is mostly concentrated in five wet months of the year. At this time, the port is under the control of the southeast trade wind, which is called the rainy season. Compared with too much rain and too wet Guangzhou is much stronger, and people don’t feel so uncomfortable in life; the land is fertile estuary alluvial soil, mostly concentrated in the Tropic of Capricornus to Nyi Seng Port line, and its outstanding feature is the high fertility (humus content) of regular recovery high) and high water content.

The officials of the Ministry of Agriculture transferred here from the local area said: "The alluvial soil layer here is as thick as 1.5 meters, and in some areas there are even 10 meters thick, all of which are rich in decomposed or semi-decomposed plant residues. The humus with high nitrogen content contains 40-75% organic matter, which is very suitable for farming. The high moisture content of the soil also prevents the soil from cracking when the rainfall is scarce in the dry season, which also saves a lot of work for the immigrants. Arrange immigrants here, because the agricultural conditions here are so superior, so superior that it is not as good as the so-called rich Beiyazi Lake Basin. Tianzun actually gave these blacks and Portuguese such huge wealth, but they are not good. It’s a waste of money to use it, so let our industrious and brave people on the east coast take care of it for them.”

After considering the opinions of the Ministry of Agriculture and local officials of New China, the Executive Committee decided to establish the Yicheng District Administrative Office and Yicheng Port here.At the beginning of this year, with the arrival of a new batch of Guarani Indians who arrived in exile, the total number of residents in Ngai Seng Port has reached more than 3000 (including [-] old Portuguese residents who are willing to accept the laws of the East Coast). With the help of the Eight Banners native soldiers on some islands, more than [-] Xhosa slaves who were originally enslaved by the Portuguese were driven to take advantage of the favorable opportunity of less rainfall in the dry season to repair the irrigation canals and reservoirs left by the Portuguese. Imitating the old practice of Xinhua Port agriculture, interplanting corn and sweet potatoes in the field-this is the agricultural planting form that is most in line with the initial development of Yicheng Port-hoping to obtain a certain grain harvest in the coming year, after all, we cannot rely on Xinhua Port for everything Island blood transfusion at close range.

And since most of the manpower has been taken to agriculture, there is naturally no time for urban construction or road traffic.Fortunately, there are old towns built by the Portuguese here, and people on the east coast can barely live there. Although those dark and damp European-style buildings are not very comfortable to live in, as a new settlement, you should not ask too much That's it - it is worth mentioning that the Lourenço Marquis built in Portugal is mostly made of stone buildings, which are relatively strong.The reason is that the surrounding area has a typical tropical grassland climate, and the forests are relatively sparse, mainly including Terminalia, Acacia, Pinwheel, Coelia, and Hardwood. Therefore, there is not enough wood for large-scale Needs for urban construction - besides, the newly established Nghe Seng District Administration does not agree to wanton destruction of trees on the savannah, because this is likely to cause no small ecological disaster.

The sparse grasslands and woodland grasslands in the Yicheng area are vast and are the main concentration of animals in Mozambique (not forests).The rich vegetation here provides great possibilities for the reproduction of herbivores, which themselves can attract a large number of predators.Perhaps because the Portuguese did not pay much attention to the management of Lorenço Marquis and its surrounding areas, you can see many large herbivores within a short distance from the town—elephants, giraffes, bison, wild boars, and rhinos are mainly concentrated In some areas, zebras, antelopes, wild goats, and rabbits are widely distributed and can be seen almost everywhere.Carnivores such as hyenas, jackals, wild dogs, and civets are also widely distributed, while lions and leopards are not very common, perhaps because some people hunt them for high-quality fur, and they are a bit hiding from humans.

Of course, if the number of animals here is huge, then the number of birds here is even more jaw-dropping. It has the title of bird paradise - hoopoe, parrots, pheasant doves, eagles, owls, Herons, ostriches and all kinds of wild ducks are everywhere, and the number is even only a little less than that of insects, providing local residents with a large source of meat.

"There are swamps all over the sea, and there are a lot of crocodiles and hippos living in them. We must find a way to clear them, otherwise it may endanger our people in the future." Qiu Haiyang, riding a horse, stood on the pier of Yicheng Port, pointing The nearby wetland said: "All kinds of pythons, horned snakes, cobras, and lizards should be removed as much as possible. If they are bitten, they may kill people. But I heard that some of the new immigrants from Guangzhou Prefecture are already hunting and killing them. Have these snakes been used as dishes? Haha, good, very good, now I don’t worry about it at all, let’s try the taste of cobra meat in two days.”

Qiu Haiyang is a member of the Transmigration Group. He was still a middle school student back then, and now more than [-] years later, he is also a middle-aged uncle who is past his prime.After hanging out in the local area for many years, this time he stood out from the fierce internal competition and got the support of a certain central boss, defeated many competitors in one fell swoop, became the commissioner of the newly established Yicheng District Administrative Office, and concurrently served as the commander of the Yicheng District Police This position can be said to be a military and political one, and it is the role of an emperor in the nearby areas.

His partner Xiao Jingzong is the second generation of Chuan, the son of Xiao Mingli, the first central veteran and Minister of Civil Affairs. He is 28 years old this year. He will serve as the mayor of Yicheng Town as a deputy director. It will also be a matter of course to be promoted to the first county magistrate of the county.

"Dragua Bay originally means lagoon bay in Portuguese, so it is normal that there are swampy wetlands and sandbars and hills by the sea, but we are confident in developing them." Xiao Jingzong also rode a horse Schekma, looking at the wild land not far away, said: "When I was in school, the teacher always said that man conquers nature, so as long as we have enough manpower and are willing to continue to invest in it, then we can transform the area around Yicheng Port. It is very possible that the environment keeps them away from diseases and disasters. Commissioner Qiu, I heard that the mainland promised us to intercept a group of immigrants from the Ming Dynasty, is it true?"

"There is such a thing." Qiu Haiyang nodded when he heard the words, and said: "The local area has been undergoing massive construction, and the demand for non-national laborers has always been great. It is almost to the point that the more the better, so this time Yicheng The Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Communications, the General Administration of Railways and other units also contributed a lot to the establishment of the region. They expect us to march to the inland areas from here, vigorously carry out slave hunting activities, and provide sufficient labor for various local construction projects. In addition, I'm afraid you also know that our country lacks high-quality coal. Although Taiping County, Ping'an County and even Tieling County all have large-scale coal mines and the output is not bad, the quality is really poor, high in sulfur, high in ash, and high in dust. If the price is not cheap, no one would want to use it. And the output of clean coal in Tacheng Port is the same. It is a very small coal mine, and the reserves are also very low. It may not be realistic to increase it. Therefore, the local industry and agriculture To use coal, we still have to find another way. Now the output of the coal mines in Montenegro has been relatively stable, and the mining of the coal mines in Heijin Island (Lesko Island) is also under construction in an orderly manner, but the cost of mining coal in these places is actually not low Therefore, the central government also requires us to think more from this perspective in Yicheng area, to develop inland areas as soon as possible, and to win high-quality coal production areas for the country.”

"Is it because of the expedition report by Director Wang (Wang Dali) of the Ministry of Geology?" Xiao Jingzong asked.He knew that Wang Dali had once organized an expedition. He stayed in the inland areas of South Africa for a long time, and finally brought back a lot of coal samples, which made the Geology Department judge that there were extremely large reserves of high-quality coal in the eastern half of South Africa. The future industrial development of the Republic is extremely important, so it can be said that coal is also one of the incentives for the establishment of Ue Seng District.

"Of course, this can be said to be a very important reason. Slaves and coal are always the most valued by the members of the Executive Committee!" Qiu Haiyang nodded heavily, and said: "As for the trade that the Portuguese are keen on, it is not Saying that we don't need to expand, but should not be the main work, just mean it, don't invest too much energy, it's not worth it, because in the long run, we and the nearby Xhosa blacks should be in a state of hostility There is no solution at all, because we want to catch them as slaves, and they naturally don't want to be slaves, and this is where the contradiction lies."

It is said that when Lorenzo Marquis was first discovered by the Portuguese, he was quickly positioned as a colonial trade point because of the open water in the bay, the deep water, and the shelter from the wind. In 1544, the first group of Portuguese immigrants appeared here. A trading post, a few manors and ranches have been established. While being self-sufficient, they are also actively trying to trade with blacks in the inland areas-mainly gold and ivory.

It's a pity that for some reason, these trades have never been able to flourish, so the population of Lorenzo Marguis has not increased much, and it has been hovering in the hundreds of people, becoming an immortal colony The trade point, coupled with the fact that it is far away from most of Mozambique (located on the far edge), has not been valued by the Portuguese. of resistance.Therefore, Qiu Haiyang, who was informed of these situations, did not have any expectations at all. He never thought that he could get back any gold or ivory from the black man. He felt that everything was still up to him.

"In two days, take someone to Sanyuanli Township in the north. There has just been a massacre there. I'm afraid that the Xhosa blacks will retaliate. You should go and have a look. Well, by the way, the newly arrived Hundreds of Guarani and Tupi Indians were sent there to settle down, and there were only five or six hundred immigrants from Guangzhou Prefecture, so I was a bit uneasy." Qiu Haiyang suddenly turned to Xiao Jingzong and said, "My two There is also a lot of work to do in the sky. There are still a lot of diseases and insect pests on the coast of East Africa. I heard that the trachea fly was a serious disaster in the Portuguese colonial area, which seriously affected the development and growth of animal husbandry. I don’t know if there is any in Yicheng area There is no such horrible insect, but I need to check it out, it is too important to delay."

Sanyuanli Township is a settlement located on the west bank of the Incomati River in the north, about 500 to [-] kilometers away from Yicheng Port (located in the later Marracuene District of Maputo City). Occupied by a pro-Portuguese black tribe.When the people on the east coast attacked Yicheng Port, this small black tribe led by the chief raised troops to help them. After being defeated, they refused to surrender. Later, Qiu Haiyang led [-] soldiers from the Eight Banners of the island to slaughter them. After all, cattle, sheep, livestock, food and agricultural tools, and residence ponds were all allocated to a new group of immigrants from Guangzhou Prefecture, who were allowed to reclaim wasteland and settle there, as a barrier to the north of Yicheng Port, and named it Sanyuan Li Township.

Yicheng Town and Sanyuanli Township are the only two settlements under the jurisdiction of Yicheng area. Therefore, when Qiu Haiyang has to stay in Yicheng Port to work, he can only ask Xiao Jingzong to take people to the north Take a look at Sanyuanli Township.And Xiao Jingzong obviously knew the importance of it, and immediately said: "I understand, Commissioner Qiu, I will be able to leave in about two days after finishing the matter at hand."

"Yeah." Qiu Haiyang gave a hum when he heard the words, and then sighed: "The Yicheng area is really a waste of money and poorly managed. There is almost nothing. Of course, we need people more than materials, not non-citizens. , but real immigrants from the Eastern Ming Dynasty. It is best to be immigrants from Guangdong and Fujian who can adapt to the local climate. If the northerners come here, the death rate may be too high. Who can not think of the members of the executive committee? You know? Isn’t it the idea of ​​monopolizing South Africa? The establishment of the Hezhong area is the same, and the establishment of the Yicheng area is the same. But if you want to monopolize South Africa, a large resource-rich land, without sufficient sources of immigrants, it is obviously a dream , There are already more than 5 people in the Hezhong area. Not to mention that the Yicheng area is on par with the Hezhong area, at least 2 people are needed, right? But now Xinhua Island only has 7 to [-] people, and there is no room to support us. Side, how can this be done? After thinking about it, we can count on the two commanders Chang and Liao of the Far East Blackwater Pioneering Team to do more to get more immigrants and send them to the mainland. The executive committee has already promised our Yicheng area To detain some immigrants from the Ming Dynasty, this Shangfang sword must be used well. Alas, I just don’t know how the situation in the Far East is now, and how my emigration business on the East Coast is going..."

(End of this chapter)