Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1555 Pampa ([-])

"Niuzhuang beef tongue has almost become a famous specialty of our place now. Even the purchasing manager of the military department has bought a lot. It is said that it will be made into canned military rations. Haha, what an honor." On a cold morning in Niuzhuang Port, Agnelli looked at the forest of masts in the river port, while listening to the chatter of the restaurant owner.

At this time, there was a plate of roasted golden beef tongue in front of him. Although no expensive spices were used, the ingredients were fresh and the chef was skilled, so Agnelli ate it happily.They just arrived at Niuzhuang Port with the boat last night, and then they have been delivering flour with people on the pier. They will be tired and hungry, and they officially need to order "hard vegetables" to fill their stomachs.

Except for some steamed buns and noodles on the table, everything related to cattle, such as grilled beef tongue, cowboy bones, beef spine, etc. Agnelli was quite comfortable eating.In Zhenhai County, although beef is also very cheap, it is definitely not as cheap as in Niuzhuang Port, which is cheaper than grain. It is really cheaper than the flour that Agnelli sells long-distance. After all, there are almost no farmers in Niuzhuang Port, and all the food needed is purchased from outside.

Grain, spirits, spices, and fuel are the four major commodities imported by Niuzhuang Port. Correspondingly, the four major export commodities are bacon, cowhide, live cattle and tallow. It is simply a city that has risen because of cattle. It's no wonder that this place is called "Niuzhuang" by everyone, it is indeed the Zhuangzi of Niu!

The Rabbit Hole Flour Mill operated by Agnelli and others has entered a period of steady development after years of rapid development, defeating and merging the industries of many competitors.If the factory wants to develop further and continue to compete in the fiercely competitive domestic market—in addition to the state-owned Dafeng Food Factory, there are also old rivals such as the Linhu Flour Factory. It is too difficult to fight a bloody road ——It is true that getting twice the result is half the effort. Therefore, Gao Jinzhong, Agnelli and many other old guys think that it is time for the company to expand outward, such as the Pampa area that no one seems to have noticed so far.

In fact, the shareholders of Rabbit Hole Flour Mill came up with this idea because they were stimulated by their old competitor, Linhu Flour Mill.That flour company, which has gone through many rounds of capital increase and share expansion, took the lead many years ago, went to Hejian area to invest and set up a factory, and purchased two obsolete production lines from Dafeng Food Factory (meaning that the technical level is also low) Up to a level), went to the ground quickly to seize many markets in the Hejian area with bright development prospects, which made the rabbit hole flour mills feel very sad, and every time they think about it, they feel very depressed.

Moreover, it is said that Linhu Flour Mill has now formed a so-called strategic partnership with Li Wenchang and others who run a large farm in Changhua, and they have cross-shareholdings with each other (of course, this is not without the factor of hugging Li Wenchang and others) , All of a sudden, it was so prosperous that it meant to overwhelm their rabbit hole factory.

So, in order to get rid of this slightly passive situation, and at the same time for the sake of future development, Gao Jinzhong, Agnelli and others decided to mobilize funds and go to Niuzhuang Port to see if there is any opportunity.I heard that the land over there is quite fertile, and it is an endless fertile plain. Although there are threats from the natives, it should not be too critical. Therefore, if possible, it should be possible to enclose a piece of land and build a grain plantation by yourself. A possible strategy.

This time, Agnelli came to Niuzhuang Port on a cargo ship of the Nanhai Liner Company. In addition to selling a batch of flour ordered by local merchants, he mainly wanted to inspect the agricultural conditions here, so that he could know what he was doing and give it to everyone when he returned. Do it for reference.Of course, it is also one of his important tasks to deepen the relationship with local merchants and continue to consolidate this small but promising sales market.

Pretentious, Agnelli did not delay on the pier. After instructing his deputy to deliver the flour to the client, he worked tirelessly and spent two days to wholesale the only three local grains. Shang visited again and again, and then tidied up a little, brought a few followers, rented several horses, hired two gaucho guides, and went all the way north to inspect the agricultural conditions around Niuzhuang Town.

In the division of later generations of Argentines, the Pampa area covers an area of ​​53.5 square kilometers, including almost the entire provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis, Cordoba and parts of Santa Fe. , the whole territory has a temperate climate with no dry season, and fertile grassland soil and volcanic ash soil are widely distributed (this is thanks to the volcanoes in Chile...), all places are suitable for the development of agricultural and animal husbandry production, so it has become the heartland of Argentina , concentrated most of the country's population, industrial and commercial facilities, and its status is irreplaceable.

The area around Niuzhuang Port, where the East Coast people are currently colonizing, is geographically located between the Tandilla Mountains and the Ventania Mountains.This is a wavy plain facing southeast, which stretches out to the ocean with high cliffs, sandy beaches and dune beaches.Generally speaking, the terrain of this area is relatively flat, which is appropriately called a plain, and the soil surface has always been known for its high fertility—the wheat and corn planted by the early Spanish colonists before they were killed by the Indians were quite high-yielding. Especially in the area around Mar del Plata, where there are still a few Spanish colonists settled, the soil is dark and extremely fertile. According to the classification standards of the Ministry of Agriculture on the east coast, it is a typical chernozem, which is very suitable for agricultural production.

Although the area around Niuzhuang Port is not as chernozem as Mar del Plata, the color of the soil is yellowish (brown to be precise), but if you carefully distinguish it, you will find that the soil is finer and it is also a kind of fertile soil, especially in the Thousands of years without farming.Agnelli has dealt with agriculture for half his life, and he still has some understanding of the quality of the soil. The soil quality around Niuzhuang Port can still be understood by him. He also believes that if the seeds are sown, regardless of the yield and quality Both will be pretty good.

And the climate here is also quite good: it is generally a temperate climate influenced by the ocean, and the annual temperature range is small; the north wind, northeast wind, southwest wind and south wind prevail, and the west wind and northwest wind rarely blow. Not much, especially in summer, which is undoubtedly conducive to navigation; and on the wavy plain between the two mountain systems, the average annual rainfall is about 700 mm, which is also very suitable for agricultural production.

The only question now is probably where to recruit people and how is the security situation.The former needs to find non-national laborers. Whether they are black or white, it is not cheap now, and he has nothing to do with it. He can only turn to the three major labor service companies.But the problem is, these three major companies are now taking on government projects with great joy, so why should they recruit people from the Old Continent for you?It's too late for people to use it for themselves!So, Agnelli got tangled up. He didn't know where to get the manpower. Maybe he could go to the Renjun Trading Company and see if he could get some black slaves from them. Otherwise, the business would be lost. Can't do it.

In addition, whether the local security defense can effectively protect his farm is also a major concern.You know, strictly speaking, Niuzhuang Port is a foreign land, and it is not within the scope of protection of the government.Moreover, different from the original cross-border reclamation of the inter-river area, the northern Patagonia area adjacent to here is suppressing bandits, and many Indian tribes were forced to transfer to the Pampa Plain in the north, which undoubtedly further deepened the Everyone's danger level.Considering that the Spanish colonies nearby were destroyed by a wave of fierce and difficult Indians, investing here still has to bear considerable security risks. The choice depends on what Agnelli and the others think.

Of course, with Agnelli's heart, he still hopes to come here to invest in enclosures.After all, at this moment Niuzhuang Port has just been created, and government officials have just been sent here, so the control is very limited. No one will control how big the land you go to the wilderness circle. If you are lucky, the rent and taxes of the previous few years will be directly No, what a bargain!Moreover, the climate here is mild, the soil is fertile, and the conditions here are much better than those in Changhua where Li Wenchang and others managed together. The cost will be much lower - if it is managed well, the Rabbit Hole Flour Factory will produce and sell its own flour in the future, and this business will definitely take off.Maybe in the future, it can also become the leading super grain merchant in China. This is everyone's common ambition.

After Agnelli and others visited the field for about a week—fortunately, no Indians were encountered during this period—they returned to Niuzhuang Port. It was already a cold winter in the southern hemisphere at this time, but Niuzhuang Town Inside and outside, it was still in full swing, with countless merchants and brokers haggling about prices on the pier and beside the corrals, groups of live cattle, buckets of bacon, pieces of tallow, sheets of The raw hides were transported to the northern mainland by various types of ships, and in exchange for them, in addition to a large number of living materials and production materials, there were also silver coins that dazzled people's eyes. This is indeed a good business!

Agnelli once asked many residents of Niuzhuang Port how many bison wandered on the Papan Prairie, but no one could give a precise number, and could only vaguely point out that there were about "several million", " More than 1000 million heads", "more than 2000 million heads" and other data.In fact, it is no wonder that the later generations of Argentines can only estimate that there were about 18 million bison on the grasslands in the early 8400th century (this century was also the peak of the rise of cattle hunting. The number of bison in China is less than 600 million), only God knows how many bison there were in the second half of the 17th century!The Ministry of Agriculture on the East Coast once estimated that the number is about 1000-2000 million heads, which is already an astonishing fortune, otherwise such a large industrial scale would not have been born.

Now, almost every day, with the dream of making a fortune, people flee to Niuzhuang Port from the east coast, hoping that they will be lucky enough to find wandering cattle on the grassland and successfully capture them.This kind of legend of getting rich overnight is now widely spread in the densely populated east coast prairie and the Duck Lake basin, making many young people give up the opportunity to go to the frontier to try their luck on the Pampa Plain. Is it good or bad.

Of course, compared with the bad behavior of the Spaniards who hunted bison wantonly in later generations, but only cut off the tongue and hide, and abandoned all the meat to fill the beast's appetite, the utilization rate of bison by the people on the east coast is still quite high.At least, they will not abandon the meat at will, but slowly drive the cattle to various livestock pens as much as possible, pick out the old and weak ones and slaughter them, and the rest will be domesticated, while slowly driving back to the vicinity of Niuzhuang Port, waiting buyer.

Moreover, the officials of Niuzhuang Town have repeatedly emphasized that if anyone is found to have abandoned the meat and fat after killing bison, he may be fined.Regardless of the strength and feasibility of the implementation of this local regulation, the attitude of the government alone is enough to put a string in some people's minds, so that they will not be too unscrupulous when hunting bison. After all, once If people find out that you have brought back a large amount of cowhide or beef tongue, but there is no corresponding beef and tallow, then if you are reported, you will be caught right away, although almost no one will do such a painful thing.

"I heard that there are endless disputes and frequent wars in the old continent. There is a huge demand for shoes, boots, ammunition bags, armed belts, water bladders, furniture, leather hats, saddles, and skins. The domestic industry has developed rapidly in recent years. Well, this is because the external market is big enough and broad enough, and at the same time, it is also inseparable from the sufficient supply of raw materials.” Agnelli looked at the Niuzhuang Port Wharf, which was constantly handling goods and personnel, and felt a little emotional in his heart: “ The cured meat industry and the leather industry have slowly developed here. These two industries are relatively labor-intensive. They will definitely attract countless people to come here in the future. What else may develop? Use tallow to make soap? Or is it the grain planting industry that I plan to invest in? Well, it’s all possible! Speaking of which, the prospect of the Pampa Plain is really scary. Back then, the Hejian area had already let the bastards from the Linhu Flour Mill It took the lead, which made our factory a little passive. This time in the Pampa Plain, we have to seize this opportunity no matter what. It is the so-called step by step. And judging from the current situation in Spain and our country, Sooner or later, the Pampa Plain will be another river, and sooner or later we will swallow it into our stomachs, and now is the right time to invest in it!"

Thinking of this, Agnelli felt as if his heart was on fire, and felt that he could not wait any longer.Now there are more than 500 people in Niuzhuang Port, and the population is increasing every day. Rabbit Hole Flour Factory must hurry up and do the preparatory work. It is estimated that there are not a few people like them investing in grain plantation business. , this competition is not small.

(End of this chapter)