Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1551 Terrace (Twenty)

On May 1669, 5, more than 31 officers and soldiers from the Eighth Mixed Battalion arrived in Dingnan Town, an inland core city.The reason why it took so long is mainly because of the dredging of the river. Now some sections of the flight are inconvenient to pass, so the troops went ashore and marched forward again. As a result, the local government failed to prepare enough food and grass in advance and was delayed for some time. In short It took a long time to reach the destination smoothly.

Dingnan Town is a newly established town that is not very prosperous, but its population is quite large. Township, Sheyan Township near the small town of Agnello, Shanlu Township near the small town of Senillosa in later generations, Honghua Township near Villa El Chocon in later generations, and Kutral Township in later generations Ningshuo Township near Kecheng City, and Changze Township near Pikun Leufu City, a total of six new settlements - Dingnan Township still has more than [-] residents settled in the city and suburban villages , engaged in agriculture, orchards, shipping and other industrial and commercial activities.

From the establishment of settlements, we can see that there are actually very good conditions for the development of agriculture in the vicinity of the confluence of the Jinsha River (that is, the Neuquen River) and the Shuoshui River.The sunlight here is strong, the water source is abundant, and the soil conditions along the river are also good. If it is properly renovated, it will be a good farmland in the future.Even, to a certain extent, the agricultural conditions here are better than most of the local areas, because other places rarely have sufficient light conditions in many river oases such as Ludang River, Chubut River, and Baoxing River. It is very critical for the development of special agriculture.

However, among the river oases of the above-mentioned rivers, the one with the largest area, the best development and the most output in later generations is the Altovalle River Oasis.The oasis is located along the Upper Negro, Lower Limay and Lower Neuquen Rivers.In this characteristic place, the production area stretches for about 120 kilometers from Cinco Saltos to the town of Resina, where a series of cities emerged in later generations.Among them are Neuquen, the capital of Neuquen province, and nearby towns such as Cipolletti, Allen, and Roca—in short, the Altovalle Oasis (now officially named Dingnan Oasis on the east bank ) is an agricultural area with high population density and many towns, similar to the river oasis along the Chubut River in the south, but on a smaller scale.

Of course, it is difficult to develop agriculture in Oasis. If you ask your superiors whether they support it, then of course they support it.However, this is not without hidden dangers. The most direct disadvantage is that when the upstream wheat fields, orchards, and pastures intercept a large amount of river water, the downstream shipping may be affected to a certain extent. After the Jinsha River confluenced near Dingnan Town to form the Ludang River all the way down the east, there was no decent tributary that could replenish water for the main stream. This will undoubtedly have a certain impact on the water volume of the river, which in turn may affect shipping.However, the scale of agriculture in the upper reaches is still very limited, and there is no population density similar to that of the later Argentine city of Neuquen (there are a large number of agricultural areas, Neuquen University, Neuquen Oilfield and its affiliated Petroleum Research Institute, Petroleum Research Institute, etc. Machinery industry and other industries), so it has no obvious impact on the shipping conditions of the Ludang River.

After the arrival of the [-]th Mixed Battalion led by Major Guo Handong (which is also the main force of the provisional [-]st Regiment), they settled in a gravel field south of the town.This piece of land is extremely barren, no weeds or shrubs grow, and the stones are everywhere, obviously there is no way to cultivate the land, so it just happens to be used as a city or military camp, and it can be used to its full potential.

There is a group of small traders active near the barracks, most of whom followed from the mainland.Just like the armies of most countries in this era, the barracks on the east bank are often followed by a "commercial team". Although it is not as exaggerated as the French army followed by a team of Italian prostitutes, some merchants who buy spoils often help deal with it at the first scene There are things like spoils of war.What's more, they often rent ships to transport some grain, oil, fruit and vegetables to the front-line material distribution center, which is tantamount to becoming an extra-staff logistics transport team, so they have always been treated by the military.Compared with these people, most of the merchants who are active outside the tentative first regiment's resident are small-scale small traders, and they seem to be insignificant.

Guo Handong noticed that these people peddled a variety of things. Except for a large number of daily necessities, most of the others were dried game, such as Patagonian rabbits, foxes, and southern rats. Small and medium-sized animals that are not commonly seen in the local area may be They bought it from hunters; however, sometimes you will encounter some ranch businessmen who raise ostriches, guanacos, and deer. The staff officers purchased it and used it as an important food reserve in the army to prepare for the soldiers. After all, no one can bear to eat corned beef all day; occasionally there will be some merchants who sell puma, jackal fur or rock parrot feathers, These beautiful items will basically be snapped up by people in the first place. Guo Handong once bought some, which cost a lot of money.

It is worth mentioning that the Italian caravans, which were more active in Patagonia, did not dare to move near the military camp.Constrained by strict military discipline, even if there is a strong demand, the officers and soldiers dare not go to those Italian girls to have fun. After all, no one wants to get syphilis inexplicably and be sent to a farm or mine in an overseas colony for "labor treatment". That would be so tragic.

"The head of the regiment took the fourth mixed battalion to the direction of Shuofang Town. He just left the day before yesterday, along the direction of the Shuoshui River. He heard that some migrating Indian tribes appeared there, which might threaten the safety of our land reclamation immigrants, so he went He led the team and set off, saying that he would fight outside for a period of time.” As soon as he entered the barracks, Li Ziqian, Guo Handong’s old buddy, former tactical teacher of the Bingtuanbao, and now the combat staff officer of the first regiment temporarily reported to him, and when he said There was an inexplicable smile on his face.

Guo Handong understands the meaning of Li Ziqian's smile, isn't it just that the old cadres have gone out to "play", and the next temporary formation of the first group will be decided by them themselves, wouldn't it be fun--Li Ziqian's words are not unfounded Yes, Zhu Liang, head of the temporary first regiment of Gein, is almost 60 years old. He doesn't like to manage things very much on weekdays, but leaves things to his subordinates to do.This time he actually led the Fourth Mixed Battalion—this battalion was a compendium battalion, and it was also the team that Zhu Liang had led for a while. Currently, the only two infantry companies are active outside. The Fourth Mixed Battalion went to Shuofang Town, but it was actually just going there with the battalion headquarters and some troops directly under it. To put it bluntly, the "suppression of bandits" in the area of ​​Shuofang Town was just to see the beautiful scenery and beautiful environment there, and I wanted to go and have a look. The magnificent scenery of the Andes Mountains and Amber Lake in late autumn is nothing more than that. As for the extermination of the Indian tribes, that is secondary, and it can be handled by the subordinates.

"The head of the regiment is not here, but we can't relax our work. In the past two days, you gather the two cavalry companies (from the second mixed battalion and the eighth mixed battalion respectively, and the former's cavalry company is not enough) to get a little training. , I will be of great use later. It is going to winter, and the Indians will definitely migrate around. At this time, the security situation will become extremely severe, and we must take precautions. To find the Indians who are elusive, there is no cavalry Yes, I will leave this matter to you, and there must be no mistakes." Guo Handong helped Li Ziqian straighten the collar of his military uniform, and said: "And this is actually our opportunity, understand? Well, yes, it will be difficult There are quite a few militiamen who can ride horses in the town, how is the training going?"

The cavalry militia mentioned by Guo Handong were actually mostly Shandan soldiers from the Heishui area in the outer northeast.They have served in the cavalry regiment or stand-up team for many years. After retiring, they don’t want to stay there. They plan to settle in the legendary east coast where “flowing with milk and honey” and “too rich”. Then came here.

These people, who can ride horses and fight wars, are actually considered "talented". They are really suitable for use in the Dingnan Oasis area where the security situation is complicated.Therefore, every time there is a large-scale operation to attack the natives of Tehuelche, they are usually temporarily recruited to accompany the army, which can be regarded as a combat force.

While the two were talking, there was a thunderous sound of horseshoes outside the camp, accompanied by a melodious singing.The end of the singing is melancholy and desolate, and sometimes there is a rough and strong sound, which is the characteristic of Mongolian songs-these songs generally praise the great achievements of Mongolian warriors in the past and the dexterity of archers, such as being able to hit a Mercedes Benz with one arrow The sharpshooter of the deer; sometimes boasting of his steed with gorgeous lyrics, admiring that it runs as fast as the wind on the prairie, and when it walks slowly, it is as gentle and gentle as the waves on the lake, and its coat color is as fiery red. It was as beautiful as the sunset glow in the sky-it seemed that this group of people had returned from hunting or training.

In fact, the Blackwater Pioneering Team has long been doing the act of naturalizing "special talents" such as the Mongols.According to Guo Handong’s knowledge, the first Han-Mongolian school directly under the pioneering team government was opened in Hailanpao Port in 1663 to recruit and train Mongolian children from inside and outside the Northeast.This is a boarding school, jointly funded by the Heishui Pioneering Team Government, the Heilongjiang Security Corps, and the Hailanpao Township Government to bear the students' living, learning, and training expenses.

The school is located in two large wooden houses with stone foundations. As far as the number of students is concerned, the school building is a bit small, especially since the number of people who are willing to enroll is increasing year by year.Except for Mongolian, Chinese, official documents, and military training, the courses taught are almost the same as those of domestic primary and junior high schools.

This Hanmeng school has also received funding from many big figures. For example, Liao Xiaoyao, the leader of the Blackwater Pioneering Team, personally donated 2000 yuan in cash to hire high-quality teachers from the east coast with high salaries to teach - Hailan Paohanmeng The principal of the school was poached from the local area by someone Liao with a high annual salary of 150 yuan. The annual salary of the director of the school's academic affairs office who was a teacher at the Anti-Qing Military and Political University was also as high as [-] yuan. This school attaches great importance to the naturalization of the Mongols in the Northeast inside and outside, and the all-round competition with the Manchu and Qing courts.

After several years of opening, Hailanpao Hanmeng School has attracted more and more Mongolian children to enroll, because with the strong rise of the East Coast people in the Northeast and the many exquisite things they brought from the outside world, many The Mongolians realized that it might be a good thing for their children to receive education, so they sent their children to schools to study. Liao Xiaoyao, who donated money to the school every year, almost became a fatherly task among the students, because It was he who gave them the opportunity to open their eyes.

These Mongolian children and their elders who have attended schools on the East Bank have become the best propagandists of the East Bank people both inside and outside the Northeast and even on the grasslands, and this will undoubtedly have a considerable impact on the future long-term strategy of the East Bank people. of.It has always been one of the long-term goals of the Blackwater Pioneering Team to go deep into the area where the inland Mongols are active and exert important influence on them.When it is not yet possible to go deep into the territory of the Mongols, it is undoubtedly an ideal model to open a Han-Mongolian school to indirectly exert influence and cultivate the foundation through education such as "soft power".When the situation changes in the future and their own strength has accumulated to a certain level, the students who are currently graduating from Hailan Pao Hanmeng School can become the first batch of leading parties to rush into Mongolia unstoppably with this chariot from the east bank plateau.

Well, the topic is a bit far away, let's go back to Dingnan Town.After Guo Handong returned to the battalion headquarters, because of the existence of the fully formed Eighth Mixed Battalion and the troops directly under the Second Mixed Battalion staying at the regiment headquarters, he planned to lead his troops all the way west, and there was still a large group of Indians in the direction—in fact, the so-called The brigade is nothing more than tens of thousands of Thuelche barbarians, and maybe some Araucans who crossed the Andes into exile in the Patagonia region, just like in history—gathered near the Andes In the mountains, search and wipe out the local Indians.

For those who obey the discipline and are willing to surrender, the people on the east bank will not give them a way to survive: they will all go to the Dingnan Oasis to dig irrigation canals, build reservoirs, level roads, dredge rivers, and improve the local infrastructure; Go to Xuanwu County and Daliang County on the coast, wait for a boat to cross the sea, go to New China (including Zanzibar, Djibouti, etc.), Australia, and officially become a resident of the overseas colonies of the East Coast Republic of China.Of course, there are still a considerable number of Indians who are disobedient, so there is no way, I can only say sorry, we have to fight for the land under the sun for our children and grandchildren, you have to protect your own homeland, there is nothing wrong with it, but you can only do it Seeing the truth, and Guo Handong and the others have always been familiar with these things, so the efficiency is naturally different.

I have to travel for a few days, and the update time is not fixed, so I can only adjust as much as possible. Forgive me, there are too many things this month.

(End of this chapter)