Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1341 Municipal Administration ([-]) (Sixth)

Let's go back in time a few months.

In April 1663, the construction site of the Northern Railway, which was originally in full swing, was much deserted.Because most of the people were transferred to participate in the construction of the more important Yinan Railway, the construction personnel of this artery-level railway that was originally planned to connect the North Yazihu ​​area and the Brazilian plateau dropped by more than two-thirds at once. The construction progress naturally slowed down.There is no way, who let the State Railway Administration and the Central Railway Company be biased? A large number of human and material resources have been transferred to the Paraná River Basin, which has frustrated the managers of the Northern Railway Project Department.

However, before a large number of construction personnel and equipment were dispatched and shipped to Iguazu Port, under the urging of the war and the strong support of the Ministry of War (labor support), the northern railway has been successfully repaired and completed. The total mileage of the Long section (about 51 kilometers) and the Shenglong-Shengyun section (about 45 kilometers) is nearly 310 kilometers, making the total mileage of the Northern Railway reach [-] kilometers, which has played an important role in the economic development of the southern tip of the Brazilian Plateau .

At present, the remaining construction workers are still building the Shengyun-Xingguo section about 42 kilometers away, and it is expected to be completed in the second half of next year (this speed has dropped all of a sudden).As for when the remaining [-] to [-] kilometers of Xingguo-Xing'an section will open to traffic, it's hard to say.Many people even pessimistically predicted that perhaps after signing a peace agreement with the Portuguese, this railway may not be able to be completed.

Ivan, the youngest son of the famous labor broker Goshkin, who had just passed his birthday, was standing in front of a construction site in the newly established Dingjun Town, listening to an old subordinate of his father explain the situation: "Although the people on the east coast are fighting this year, It is still going on, but the scale is much smaller than before, and the manpower mobilized is also much less, so now there are more resources to start building roads. The Zequan Township under our contract (located in the later Venanciu Aili It is against this background that the subgrade leveling project of the second-class national road from near Si Xiaocheng) to Dingjun Town was carried out. Little Ivan, you are not clear about the situation when you just came here, so follow me around the construction site today Go ahead, it's good for you."

"Okay, Uncle Vladimir." Ivan nodded shyly and smiled, "I will study hard and try to master some engineering knowledge as soon as possible."

"Actually, I really don't understand." The tall, middle-aged man Vladimir said while leading the way, "Your father tried every means to get you naturalized on the East Coast, and for this reason, he hired a professional lawyer for you at a high price." Chinese teacher, is it just to go to that Qingdao Luqiao School? Is it really possible to be very good at that school? At least many officials on the east coast I have contacted rarely graduated from such a school, and many They are all veterans. Well, there are actually some, some veterans will go to the Dayuhe Officer Training School to study before they are promoted to towns, but does that count?"

Ivan was also a little silent when he heard the words, because he was not qualified to go to that Qingdao Luqiao School, because he is not yet a citizen of the East Coast Republic of China, and his Chinese level is not very high, so it may be very difficult to go to class.However, judging from what he has seen and heard in the past few months on the east coast, he no longer wants to go back to the cold and difficult Russian Empire. He cannot convince himself to accept the hard and dark life in the past , and give up the bright future on the east coast.

According to what his teacher on the east coast told him during the chat, in the Russian Empire, all land was considered to be the property of the royal family and private individuals, so it was only possible to develop large-scale landed ownership, and peasants became de facto serfs.Terror often hangs over the serf's head, he runs the risk of being both landowner and proletarian, but he has neither the superiority of the former nor the latter, and fate usually strikes him on both sides, and rarely grants him an ascension ladder.But on the east bank, the government strives to turn all farmers into small private owners, thus creating a huge social middle class. This free peasant class can form a huge consumer market, promote the development of social wealth and civilization, and improve the national standard of living. The overall salary level makes people's lives richer and happier. Ivan has already felt all of this in the past few months on the east coast, so he began to hate the old-fashioned and backward Russian Empire and his own past.

There was a burst of aroma from the side of the road ahead, and Ivan looked up. It was a restaurant selling steamed buns, buns and other pastries. There were huge beef buns, and even poor laborers in Ross could buy a few to taste from time to time. Early adopters, all of which are hard to imagine in the Old World.There is a water station next to Baozipu, which has a large bucket of mountain spring water, which is brought from the nearby mountains. It is very sweet. Every morning and evening, there are special personnel to send the water to Dingjun Town. Water facilities, well water doesn't smell good?

And when it comes to the water delivery workers who serve urban residents here, we have to mention the increasing urban population of the Eastern China Republic and the slow urbanization movement—although the country is still a large rural area and a large construction site. However, this does not prevent urbanization from taking root in this New World country and gradually developing and growing.

Take Dingjun Town, a settlement with a population of more than 2000, as an example. Nowadays, more and more residents live in the town and engage in commerce, handicrafts, art industries, or simply government employees. About one-third of the population of Dingjun Town—of course, this does not mean that one-third of the population of the East Coast Republic of China has lived in the city. Dingjun Town has such a large urban population, and its location It is related to the transportation hub and relatively developed economy, and it cannot be used as a basis for judging the degree of urbanization on the east coast. Don’t you see that there are almost no urban population among the more than [-] people in Zequan Township next door. Even the family members of some township cadres have to go to the ground. Doing farm work shows that there are great regional differences.

But in any case, the urbanization process on the east coast is indeed deeper than before. The people who are pouring into the cities are mainly the new generation of citizens who have grown up. On the one hand, they cannot inherit the land on which they live, and the country There are also fewer opportunities to open up wasteland and divide public land, so many people come to the city to try their luck.What’s more, many of them entered the city after graduating from elementary school in four or five years. Those who were almost lucky were apprenticed to craftsmen, and those who were lucky enough to work in government departments or enter vocational schools of large state-owned enterprises for training. It is also a kind of guarantee for future life-of course, there are some people who are not willing to be lonely to cross the border to reclaim wasteland or simply go to overseas colonies to seek opportunities to make a fortune, but there are relatively few such people.

The national mainstream media "Pravda" once had a relatively clear description of the urbanization process, that is: "So far, with more and more young people growing up, the population has been moving from the hinterland of the country or 'more healthy places' move to cities or coastal cities, where very few families have been living for two generations. But it is clear that in the future cities will not be like camping tents, or places for outsiders to exert their energy. and will be the birthplace of more and more East Coasters."

Of course, "Pravda" has never been full of praise, and it also pointed out considerable problems, such as: "Some towns in our country are so lacking in municipal management that the problem of cleanliness and sanitation is almost as serious as that of a camping nomad. or an undisciplined army."

Another example: "The prison used to be famous for its filth and poor ventilation, but according to the description made by our reporter, the worst prison we have ever visited, compared with many of our towns and alleys that lack qualified management, its The level of sanitation and cleanliness may be slightly better. Are we going to send sick patients to prisons for care in the future?"

It is precisely because of the ruthless exposure and satire of "Pravda" that the sanitary conditions of some domestic cities and towns have begun to improve slightly. The Government Council also under the instruction of the Executive Committee last year listed the ten cities with the most worrying sanitary conditions in China. Into the "Old City Reconstruction Plan", in fact, to put it bluntly, it is to build urban sewage facilities and domestic sewage treatment institutions.This plan is expected to consume 100 to [-] yuan of funds, which is a huge burden on the state's finances. However, this money must be spent. Some cities are indeed in urgent need of renovation.

As for where the money for the transformation comes from, hehe, it has to be cut from the war funds!From the perspective of the members of the executive committee, the war with the Portuguese has now come to an end, and the rest is just negotiations. There is no need to spend a lot of money on the front line, so a lot of money can be invested in domestic construction among.Even the trophies brought back by the army and navy from various places last year were used by the executive committee to pay the principal and interest of the debts owed to the Gen*Naya people. This shows the urgency of the executive committee to build the country .

"This year there is still a group of workers from Russia, about 700 people. After these people arrived, Dingjun Town, Zequan Township, Xiufeng Township (located near the later Bentu Gonsalves City), Potou Some urban streets or water and sewage facilities in the township (located near the small town of Kailan du Leon after the Expo) will invite bids, and we will strive to win a project at that time. People on the east coast have always been willing to spend money on these municipal projects. It’s a pity if we don’t fight for it.” After carefully inspecting the entire construction site with Ivan, they saw that it was lunch time, and the two headed towards Dingjun Town, only to hear Vladimir talking about the future The work plan, and this undoubtedly makes little Ivan a little proud, this is a business created by his father alone.In today's East Coast construction labor market, Goshkin's is probably already a well-known brand name, just like Valentino's and Mendez's.

"People on the east coast take these projects very seriously. Someone once told me that a certain city was saved from an outbreak of 'intermittent fever' in a certain year because of the proper paving of roads; Because of the sewers, the large-scale spread of the plague was avoided.” Vladimir continued, “Maybe there is no place where high-standard roads are paved in the city for public health, but paving makes the town more hygienic. It has become livable. Of course, these cities are still not comparable to big cities such as Dongfang County, Qingdao County, and Pingan County. Those cities not only have good roads in the city, but even have horse-drawn rail buses that circle the entire city. It is undoubtedly more in line with the hygiene habits of the city to be operated by the county's own street car company. We will also live in such a city in the future, Ivan. Would you like to live in the old city of Moscow with disorganized buildings and winding roads? , in a city with overflowing sewage on the streets?"

"No, of course I don't want to, Uncle Vladimir." Ivan shook his head violently, and said, "I'm used to the clean and comfortable life in the east coast towns, and I don't want to live in those filthy towns on the Old Continent anymore." The so-called big cities, really, those places are really terrible, they are completely incomparable with the east coast, and the hygiene habits are also poor, and a big plague may break out at any time, it is really terrible."

(End of this chapter)