Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1529 Technology diffusion and catching up

In the secluded countryside of Montenegro, a two-story brick house stands alone on the ground full of low bushes, gravel, and overgrown weeds.Even though it is already spring in the southern hemisphere, the surface of the Patagonian Terrace is still in a tawny tone, which makes people feel drowsy when they look at it.

There is a courtyard surrounded by walls at the front and back of the brick house, and two "black leather" guards with guns stand at the gate of the courtyard.Occasionally passers-by subconsciously quicken their pace when they pass by here, as if they don’t want to get in touch with this monster-like building. This may be related to the plaque hanging on the gate—this is the Syphilis Patient Statistics and Investigation Bureau Araucan The Heishan Township Office of the County Branch, a high-pressure spy agency that makes people look pale.

A heavy carriage stopped gently in front of the office door. Tian Xing, carrying a cowhide briefcase, got out of the carriage, handed over his documents to the guard at the gate for inspection, and strode into the yard.On this trip, he came here to complete the transfer of prisoners. He is already a major in the army, and he is almost one of the powerful figures in the Gendarmerie Command. Just talk to a few people.

Major Tian Xing just returned to China to report on his duties a while ago, and his military rank was also promoted to commend him for his hard work in the North American Free State. Of course, some people accused him of being promoted after his father-in-law helped to operate it, but this is not humane. .After the debriefing, Major Tian saw that he still had plenty of time, so he went on vacation in southern Patagonia with his wife and children. Unexpectedly, he ran into a suspicious coal miner on the way. The problem was discovered and he was arrested immediately.Because this did not involve military intelligence, and he was also on vacation, he was handed over to the local Mei agency office for processing according to regulations.Today he was here to deal with some follow-ups. After all, the criminal was handed over to the Mei Agency, so there must be some formalities.

"Big news, Major Tian." The office director of the local Mei agency said with a smile on his face, with a pipe in his mouth.This intelligence officer, who seemed to be a retired soldier, had a good impression of Tian Xing, who also came from the army system, so he spoke kindly, not to mention that the other party had an extraordinary status and a high military rank, so it was worth fawning on.

"This miner named Donald has involved a big local figure, a celebrity who is said to be teaching Spanish in Qingdao Port." The office director put down the pipe in his hand and said happily: "I have sent a telegram to Xingnan Port. An encrypted express will be sent to the mainland soon, and then our lovely Mr. Spy will be arrested. Ah, I really want to go there to see the face of that person, but it is a pity that I can't fly there. "

Tian Xing was also surprised to hear what he said, because there is only one person in Qingdao Port who meets the above conditions, and that is the famous Mr. Simones.This gentleman taught Spanish in many local schools—such as Bingtuanbao, Dayuhe Youth Cadre School, Navigation School, etc.—and also took the lead in converting to "domestic Catholicism". Therefore, he was commended by his superiors, and he is now considered a moderate celebrity in the East Coast.

But, is he also a spy?Tian Xing couldn't believe it.However, he has experienced many things in recent years, and he will not put it on the face if he does not believe in one thing, so he asked the official of the Mei agency in front of him for details to determine whether the arrested miner spy is really Randomly climbing and biting.

"This spy is an Englishman, and of course he also serves the British government. It is reported that their lair is in the Golden Deer Commercial House, where an official from England manages all of this. He was a major general in the Cromwell era, and in the The major general system was abolished, and after Charles was restored, a lord from London was in charge of all affairs." The office director took another puff from his pipe, then narrowed his eyes and smiled: "But these are not the point, the point is that this person pointed out, There is a well-known Spanish teacher in Qingdao Port who is providing them with information, and it has been more than once."

"It's really amazing news." Tian Xing was silent for a while, and then he commented: "But this miner doesn't seem to be a high-level spy. He should just come to 'learn' our country's advanced coal mining technology and equipment. What does he have? What qualifications do you have to know this level of news? You know, Mr. Ximenez is not an unknown person, but a rather influential figure. His image in the government is also quite positive, and he has donated money and materials for several wars Well, it’s not an exaggeration to call him a model citizen.”

"It can only be blamed on his boss for being too unprofessional, too talkative, and completely unaware of intelligence workers. You know, those aristocrats have always been stupid, and it is normal not to understand the principles and taboos of intelligence work, so that in The information that should not be disclosed was revealed in front of the subordinates. But no matter what, whether Mr. Ximenez is really a spy or innocent, the matter will always be investigated anyway. It is not difficult at all. We just need to wait quietly for the news. Yes." The intelligence officer bared his big yellow teeth and said with a smile.If Mr. Ximenez is really a spy, then the credit he has made this time is too great. No wonder he is so excited about this, because this is indeed big news.

"This is really a disaster for the British, especially because they made their own mistakes. I think Charles II must have the urge to strangle that lord Sir. By the way, does British Ambassador Charles know about it?" Tian Xing asked again.

"I think he must have known about it. There is no doubt about it. After all, the Golden Deer Shop served as the de facto English embassy on the east coast for a long time before, but we have not caught any direct evidence of his involvement in this matter. This is It was nothing at all, but considering that he is an ambassador, it is better to be cautious if there is no definite evidence. It is better not to do it, so as not to be made irresponsible remarks and make use of it. You know, our country has just bought London's "iron" Mansion', sent a number of diplomats to prepare for the establishment of the embassy, ​​don't give the British a chance to retaliate."

This is a mature and prudent approach, and it is also in line with the unspoken rules. Tian Xing has no doubts about it.However, through this incident, he also realized more clearly that at a time when the rise of the east coast is becoming more and more obvious, and it is becoming more and more difficult to hide his brilliance, how do those countries in the old continent feel about the endless new technologies emerging on the east coast? Land desires—England, the United Provinces, France, Spain, Portugal, what country hasn't sent spies, or stolen things or technology?Even the businessmen from the Italian states, who have always only been doing business, brought a few spies over from time to time, which made people speechless.

Among these technology-stealing countries, the United Provinces are the largest, but the level is undoubtedly higher than that of the British, because they mainly steal steam engine technology and smuggle prohibited goods. This is normal. As the kingdom of England with rich coal resources, it is natural to salivate over the water pumps, steam hoes, hoists, railcars, breakers and other equipment that the East Coast Republic has extensively used in mines, and try to get some back. , imitation, although most of them cannot be successful.

Moreover, in addition to mining equipment, the mining methods of the people on the east coast are also very worth learning.For example, people on the east bank dug some horizontal roadways in coal mines, and built some small connecting mines, ascending passages, dark shafts and so on at intervals-the construction of these mine roadways has multiple functions. Is it worth continuing to mine, and it can also be used as a channel for transporting minerals, which can serve multiple purposes; another example is the pillar mining method adopted by people on the east coast in some mining areas, that is, the upward step mining method or the downward step mining method, that is, step by step mining. mining.These mining methods are not very advanced, but they are much better than the British’s random mining and digging. For the British who are extremely rich in coal and iron resources, they are really very valuable, so they sent Spies came to steal, and achieved certain results.

Compared with the British who focused on mining, military industry and machinery manufacturing, the Dutch paid more attention to the legendary "navigation charts" and "ocean current maps" on the east coast, the products of various ports, geographical and weather information, and some commercial crops. It is no longer a secret that people on the east coast have higher sugar cane yield and yield than European sugarcane. They have been trying to obtain it for many years, but unfortunately the results are very little, and the results are far from satisfactory. They have huge appetites.

It's just that people on the east coast have always strictly controlled this kind of thing, especially those nautical blueprints, which are strictly kept in the hands of the politically reliable captain, first mate, and navigator. Others on the ship are not qualified to have access to these confidential documents Yes, violators may even be sentenced after returning to Hong Kong.It is precisely such strict secrecy measures that have prevented the Dutch for many years from understanding how the ships of the people on the east coast "happily" crossed the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. The instinct of the coachman.

Compared with England and the United Provinces, investors from the Italian states who also had a lot of contact with people on the east coast, who were not accepted by Genoese businessmen, are very strange.They are more interested in the effective management methods and financial bookkeeping system of the East Coast people, and feel that this is the skill they should master, so they managed to get some learning materials—fortunately, the secret level of these social science or economic things It is relatively low, and it is not closed to Genoese. Therefore, in the library of the Finance and Accounting Specialized School in Dongfang County, the capital of the east coast, you can often see some Italians who have been approved studying with bright eyes. It is they who are proficient in Chinese.

Of course, the Italians were more interested in management systems and bookkeeping, but that didn't mean they wouldn't steal East Coast tech knowledge.At least, the May agency once uncovered that a Genoese *Asian manager of the Rocha Textile Factory disclosed some textile technology in violation of regulations, and was subsequently passed back to Italy.This kind of incident shows that the Italians are still more interested in the textile technology that they have certain advantages, because they have not given up their efforts in this industry.

The slow outflow of technology from the East Coast—whether active or passive—has objectively promoted the technological level of the Old Continent countries and increased their productivity. Although the degree is not high, it is still more advanced than the same period in history.However, this does not frustrate people on the east coast, because to a certain extent, the steady improvement of the technology level of the old continent—only technologies that are not very popular on the east coast—is not necessarily the same as the industrial and commercial development of the east coast. People in the world don't want to see it.Perhaps in their view, an old continent with improved productivity can better match the technology and production capacity of the East Coast Republic beyond the times, and it can also promote the further development of the East Coast, as long as they don't get rid of it.

"Then, the transfer procedures for this Mr. Donald have been completed, Major Tian, ​​I heard that you are about to end your vacation and go to work in Xinjing Port, so I wish you a smooth journey here." The director of the agency's intelligence office shook Tian Xing's hand enthusiastically, and said with a smile: "I also hope that your work in the Free State will go well, and you will make more contributions to our Eastern China Republic."

"With your good words, I will work hard." Tian Xing smiled reservedly, then withdrew his hand, picked up the handover documents on the table and stuffed them into the briefcase, and finally said goodbye: "I hope you can catch more Mole that hides among the people, put up the fence for the country, these people are so disgusting."

After speaking, Major Tian Xing left.On the way to meet his wife at the railway station in a carriage, he also thought about many things from the perspective of an intelligence officer: almost from the time when the East Bank first emerged from the Europeans, the East Coast Republic of China in the New World had emerged. Wave after wave of spies came, and these people wanted and stole almost everything from industrial technology to management systems, from agricultural seeds to navigation blueprints.In the contest with these foreign spies, although the Mei Agency has achieved brilliant victories, as the saying goes, it is only a thousand days to be a thief, but there is no reason for a thousand days to defend against a thief. Therefore, it has also fallen several times under long-term defense, which makes the Europeans very happy. Some valuable knowledge and technology (as for the smuggling of contraband is even more).

However, even if Europeans have obtained these technologies, in the field of scientific research on the east coast with complete systems, reasonable reward and punishment mechanisms, a good atmosphere, and relatively abundant funds, can the speed of progress really be caught up by Europeans?Although the total number of talents in the Old Continent may be much larger than that of the East Coast, and the number of talented geniuses far exceeds that of the East Coast (after all, it only has a population of more than 200 million), Tian Xing is not optimistic about their pace of catching up with the technology of the East Coast, because their investment and The efficiency is too low!Maybe when the electrical research by Xuefeng Lake has made some progress, the old continent has just started to use the steam engine as an important power source.

But here again, after so many years of stealing steam engine technology from the east coast, what level is the Europeans in this technology now?What about their overall industrial level?Tian Xing was also a little curious about this.

(End of this chapter)