Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1539 West Indian Ocean ([-])

"Sir, we're almost arriving at Lu'an Port." A sailor skillfully gathered up a rope fixed on the ship's side, and said to Nanjiro who was standing on the deck with a heavy heart, smoking a cigarette and thinking about things.

The rope pulled up by the sailors is made of sisal fiber produced in Xinhuaxia Island. It is strong, wear-resistant, and corrosion-resistant. It has always been one of the important exports of this tropical island.There is an iron hook at the end of this rope, and a piece of stinky bacon was placed on the hook beforehand, and then it was thrown into the sea to catch some special things, such as the prey that would have been hooked.

"It's a dog shark, but I don't know what kind it is. I'm not very clear about the classification of this kind of thing." Another sailor who came to help grabbed the rope and said to the previous sailor while pulling it up.

The dog shark is a very valuable animal, viviparous, and there is a certain market demand for it on the east coast, so it has always been one of the main targets for sailors when they are free to fish.Just put the meat on the hook and the voracious animal is sure to bite and be caught as a prize by the joyous sailors.

The dog shark is very tenacious in its vitality, because even if its head or tail is cut off, and the wound is bleeding like a fountain, it can still turn around; not only that, but when its intestines are taken out of its belly, it can often live for more than an hour , Duandi is miraculous.

"Cut off the fins and send them ashore. I want to eat them at noon." The captain with a beautiful moustache came out from the bridge, handed a few coins to the sailor who caught the dog shark, and ordered slowly: "It should be handled cleanly. The slices should not be very thick, and the grease should be removed, and then the butter in my private kitchen should be sent ashore. Lu'an Port is full of waste, and it is estimated that it lacks some basic daily necessities."

The sailors put away the coins excitedly and started working quickly.The fins are the captain's delicious meal, and he may use them to entertain the security commander named Nanjiro; as for the parts other than the fins, except for the meat near the tail, other parts of the meat—— Well, they'd rather eat the corned beef and throw the dogfish in the ocean.Of course, dog shark skin is also valuable, and the leather used to make it has a good price in the East Coast. In addition, a thick white substance in the two cavities above the dog shark's eyes must also be taken out. The material can be used as a menstruation medicine after being dried and ground into powder, and it is also a part of the income.

Several 650-ton flute-shaped transport ships belonging to the East African Transportation Company soon anchored off the coast of Lu'an Township, and then began to use small boats to continuously transfer people and materials to the shore-this is also impossible, although Lu'an Township It has been established for some time, but the port lacks capital, technology and manpower, and its infrastructure is in a mess. It has not even been able to block the entry and exit of large ships near the mouth of the Lu'an River (that is, the Mananpatrana River that enters the sea here). The sand spit is cleaned up, so that large ships can only be moored in deep offshore waters, and then transported back and forth by small boats, which is inefficient.

Of course, Nanjiro noticed the poor infrastructure in Lu'an Township at the first time, but he was already mentally prepared for it. It is not surprising how poor the infrastructure is in overseas colonies, although Xinhua Island is known for its wealth. .The messy and untidy buildings on the shore, the extremely bad dock facilities, and the silted and shallow inlet and outlet harbors all need to be rehabilitated and remodeled in the future. Otherwise, how can we show the means of someone in my south?

As for the labor, capital, and building materials needed to rectify these projects, well, investors in the whole region may need to donate (donations have always been the most hated thing for businessmen, but they can't get rid of it...) Second, they also need the support of their superiors, and of course they need their own efforts—to put it bluntly, they search and suppress the natives in the inland areas, include them in the ranks of non-national laborers, and contribute their own strength to the construction of the Zelu area.

This kind of thinking is indeed the normal brain circuit of officials from Qiuba like Nanjiro. They are direct in their work, don't like to go round and round, and yell at the natives at every turn, which is a headache for the civil government.However, in many cases, they really need their "shit-stirring stick" spirit to stir it up, especially when some newly opened areas have not yet opened up the situation, military control for a period of time may not be a bad thing.

"Commander Nan, your personnel and supplies have already begun to be transferred." The captain of the transport ship who came to the shore in a small boat with Nanjiro said in a flattering tone: "Guns and ammunition, medical equipment, machine parts, rain cloth Mosquito nets, food and alcohol, as long as they are on the list, you can’t go wrong, enough for your ministry to stay nearby for a long time. Oh, by the way, those small boats will also stay in Lu’an Port for your ministry’s expedition Means of transportation. Well, I heard that some native boat-building craftsmen were also arrested in the area of ​​Lu'an Port, and they built a lot of canoes, and they can be used as they are..."

Hearing what the transport captain said, Nanjiro nodded slightly to show his understanding.The east coast of Xinhuaxia Island is under the joint action of ocean currents and sea breezes, making it difficult for many large rivers originating from side slopes or plateaus to flow eastward into the sea. A series of oxbow lakes and brackish and brackish water lagoons have been formed, and the navigation and transportation conditions are poor. Except for small boats and canoes that can be navigated and paid for, it is difficult for large ships to approach, so they can only anchor in the open sea. This is probably the reason why there are only a handful of high-quality seaports on the east coast of Madagascar in later generations-the natural conditions are not good, and the government has no money to dredge, so it can only be left in a bad state.

Therefore, on the east coast of New China, if you want to "go out to do errands", you still have to rely on those small boats and canoes, and the others are not easy to use.Of course, some people also asked whether it is possible to connect the series of north-south rivers, lagoons, oxbow lakes, and swamps on the east coast into one piece to facilitate the exchange of materials and personnel between the north and the south.To be fair, this proposal is reasonable and reasonable. The oxbow lakes, lagoons, and rivers parallel to the coast on the east coast of Gein are too long. If a canal is really to be dug to connect them , The amount of engineering may not be so large.

The biggest difficulty now is probably that many places that need to be widened, dredged, and excavated are inaccessible, basically a barren state, and the transportation of personnel, food, and tools is a huge expense, and the cost is a bit high.In addition, the east coast has just been partially included in the rule of the east coast people, and the population and economic scale are still relatively small. It is neither economical nor necessary to dig a transportation link between the north and the south, so this proposal has never been received. How much people pay attention to it has been put on the shelf, but everyone also knows that this east coast canal itself is still valuable, but the timing is wrong.

Nanjiro's subordinates have already disembarked and negotiated with the officials of Lu'an Township. Those people have received the notice from their superiors about the establishment of the Zelu area and the implementation of military control. After the certificate, the two sides quickly completed the handover. So far, our Captain Nanda has officially become the nominal supreme officer of the nine townships in the entire Zelu area. Of course, the management of Daze County may be a little difficult. This Zelu area The only county-level administrative unit under its jurisdiction already has its own team, and most of the officials are the confidantes of Captain Peng Yuanzhi, who has been transferred to the acting police commander of the Daqing area. How Minamijiro manages in the future depends on his means and wisdom up.

Some cadres from Lu'an Township soon came to meet the new chief under the guidance of military officers.The place where they met was under a thatched arbor. The captain of the flute-shaped transport ship also contributed his dog shark fins. They chatted relaxedly and happily while touching butter on the golden-grilled fish fins. .

The officials in Lu'an Township were quite different from Nanjiro's imagination. These people wore all kinds of clothes, and they were somewhat dirty.Perhaps it is because of the recent conflicts with the natives in the inland areas over the land. Each of these guys has a dagger on the right side of the cow belt, which looks like a kitchen knife hanging on the belt. Many people Cycad poison was applied to the blade (typical - native style!).Minamijiro noticed that the corners of his mouth twitched slightly as the men took no notice of slicing open the coconuts with their own daggers and urged everyone to share this delicious treat.

However, although these people looked sloppy and their clothes were tattered, almost everyone wore a jewel ring on their finger. He guessed that most of these jewels were looted from the natives.I have long heard that Xinhua Island is very famous for its gemstone resources (the quantity is large, although the texture is very ordinary). Nanjiro didn't feel that much before, but now that he sees it, he really lives up to his reputation. It seems that his tenure in the next few years will also make a difference.

"Coconuts, sea turtles, birds and fish are abundant here. There are neither too many trees nor too few trees. There are many swamps, mosquitoes are everywhere, and the natives are also very fierce. It is not a very ideal colony." Nanjiro knew for the first time that in his eyes The mayor of Lu'an Township, who is as scruffy as a bandit in the village, is actually a talented student who graduated from Bingtuanbao. This meeting only heard him introduce: "Although I don't know why Shangfeng attaches great importance to this place, since we are here, we must do our work well." Well, the first step, I think it is to survive and lay a good foundation for the businessmen who come to invest, at least to ensure the safety of their lives and property, this is the most important point.”

The waiters served by the soldiers of the Eight Banners of the island brought some food to everyone, most of which were made of coconut.In this era when coconut palms have not yet spread from the Western Pacific to the whole world (Madagascar is the only place with coconuts outside Southeast Asia), many people on the east coast still rarely see this fruit, let alone the food made from it Yes—the off-white coconut milk is for everyone to drink, and there are also some special foods of Xinhua Island, such as coconut meat mixed with cinnamon to make an almond-flavored emulsion, and then put vinegar, salt and oil, which can be used to make salads; the other is more expensive, that is, pastries made of coconut meat and glutinous rice (in Tahiti, this is replaced with expensive sago). It is said that the residents of Lu'an Township This pastry is often eaten with salted fish.

Contrary to the expectations of the transport captain, the Island Eight Banners soldiers also brought some "butter".This oil is also obtained from coconuts, that is, the coconut shell is soaked in water to form an emulsion, and then herbs, cabbage, rice and fish are boiled in it, the emulsion will become sour overnight, when mixed with some water After boiling in a pot, the white color of the emulsion gradually fades until all the water is boiled away, leaving a pure oil at the bottom of the pot, which is as pure and sweet as olive oil, and can be used as butter, very Nutritious.

The Portuguese are also said to have used the coconut oil mixed with some plant sap to treat coughs and asthma, asked gout patients to rub the oil on sore spots, and used the roots to treat fevers and dysentery.Even among their captains and sailors, legends circulated that dew-beaten coconuts could be used to cure malaria.

People on the east coast do not deny the importance and economic value of the coconut crop, but if you say it can cure so many diseases, it is nonsense.The Portuguese are ignorant, but the people on the east coast are not stupid!To treat dysentery, you still have to rely on ipecac herbal preparations or simply use emetine powder. To treat malaria, you still have to use cinchona cream and coconut to cure all diseases. That’s a bluff. You didn’t see these Portuguese who believed in it Did the Dutch die of malaria, dysentery and other tropical diseases in waves?

"Since there are so many wild coconut trees, it's good to accumulate them as capital in the early stage." Nanjiro took a bite of coconut glutinous rice and found that the taste was not bad, but there was too much sugar (co-authored by Xinhua Island Sugar It’s cheap...), he put down the coconut shell in his hand, and said with a smile: “If you have this kind of resource, you should make full use of it. Although there are many competitors, you may not be able to sell it for too much fake money ( Even on the east coast, fifty coconuts are only sold for more than two yuan), but it can be subsidized a little. The Zelu area needs to develop, and there is a shortage of money everywhere, gentlemen! The executive committee’s layout of Xinhua Island It is basically clear that the west coast is dominated by cotton and dry farming, supplemented by animal husbandry; the northern region is dominated by timber, sugar, and flavor industries, supplemented by fishery and shipbuilding industries; the east coast is divided into two, and the old area (northeast part) Coffee, cocoa, and sisal are the main planting, coal mining, and grain planting are supplemented, and the new area (southeast part) is mainly planting pepper and coffee. To achieve this goal, in addition to relying on the funds brought by foreign investors , technology and talents, we ourselves should not have the heart of waiting, relying and demanding, but we must have the spirit of taking the initiative.”

"No money? The natives have it. The large coconut groves are natural wealth! No one? Aren't the natives good labor?" Nanjiro took a sip of the argan wine made from coconut tree juice (this is also One of the products exported to the mainland, the market needs to be so-so), patted the table and said: "I heard that the natives in Daze County in the south have had a lot of conflicts with us recently? I don't think there is any need to bear this matter anymore. The honeymoon period is over, and they don't show affection, so what else is there to say? Let them see our methods!"

I've been really busy recently, and I didn't get home until [-] o'clock this evening to type, and now I'm dizzy and go to bed.After two days, the time should be updated and adjusted.

(End of this chapter)