Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1566 Chile's Progress ([-])

In fact, it might just be that the militia officers are more cautious. In fact, the machines transported to Boling Town by mules and carts are just some small steam engine components, which are used in local agriculture and forestry.

Of course, it is not correct to say that it is a steam engine component. Because of the machining accuracy, many mechanical parts with high requirements of the East Coast people are not interchangeable.That is to say, the people who use the unit—such as the manufacturer of the steam engine—after buying the parts, they can use them directly if the precision is not high, at most, the efficiency is low; but for some parts that require high precision, such as sliding Bearings and the like need to be reprocessed and polished by the craftsmen of the manufacturer. There is no way to do this. After all, the basic industrial level is like this.

Therefore, when the 7.5-horsepower steam engine and transmission system components shipped to Boling Town were assembled locally, 100% of them had to be polished, processed, and integrated again, otherwise they would not be usable at all.However, this is quite good compared to the old continent. Their poor pedal machine tools, hydraulic machine tools and even wind machines (industrial windmills) are not only poor in accuracy, but also unstable in power (which further reduces the machining accuracy. and production efficiency), so there is a generational gap compared with the basic industries on the east coast—so, this is just a worse world, not necessarily because of the high industrial technology of the people on the east coast, it is really that the old continent is too bad ah!

In the early morning of November 1669, 11, I hurriedly ate a breakfast with the characteristics of southern Chile—steamed potatoes with thick soup. The soup was stewed with clams, mussels, tofu, beef and some vegetables. The area around the island is very popular, it is a local signature dish, and it has a great reputation—afterwards, Sergio Rivera and others set out on the road again, driving a carriage north to Boling Town, which is also on Fangyuan. It is the only large-scale town within 2 kilometers.

The scenery along the way is extremely monotonous, except for the vast primitive jungle or primitive jungle, the land is covered with various trees, such as Chilean cypress (there are a large number of such towering giant trees in Chile, which is a very practical building material), Chilean Nanyang Cedar (this is also the national tree of Chile in later generations, with a large yield of pine nuts, and many local people buy them) can be seen everywhere, and there are also some other coniferous forest trees. In short, it is a natural heritage that cannot be underestimated.

"The logging camp should be profitable." Looking at the forest outside the window of the carriage, Rivera thought silently.He heard that many businessmen from Genoa, Lucca, and Milan invested in the southern foothills of Dingjun Mountain, mainly engaged in forest logging, railway transportation, port wharves, etc., although the profit margin is not comparable to operating sugarcane plantations In comparison—this is also the most popular investment project among Italians nowadays, because of the business miracles brought about by the Genoa Africa Company and the Delta Company—but the advantage is that it is a good business, at least better than buying old brands. A business or government annuity would be cheaper, wouldn't it?

Some land on the road looks very wet, which may be because of the rain and snow in the winter and spring in the central and southern regions of Chile, and the rivers and lakes are also prone to flooding.The latter, in particular, reminded Rivera of the famous cattle ranch in Hungary, where floods flood every year. After the flood recedes, the land is extremely fertile, and often grows plump and juicy pastures. The cattle that are fed are very famous and are exported all year round. to Austria and Italy.

However, the people on the east coast are probably not willing to use the good river valleys for cattle grazing like the Hungarians. These farming madmen have never only planted wheat, soybeans and corn in the fields, or vegetables and melons. .Although there is a lot of land used for grazing, they are basically relatively poor soil that can only grow grass, or in hilly and mountainous areas. In short, this group of people should be very good at planting grains.

In fact, this was also the case. When he was on the road yesterday, he saw many people on both sides of the Maolin River leveling and transforming the land.Those are large forests that have been cut down, and the timber has become their houses, bridges and fortresses. There are only bushes, weeds, stones and tree stumps left on the ground. Those reclamators should plan to open up in this river area There are some farmland, vegetable fields and orchards; on the other side of the river from them, due to the low terrain, some areas will be flooded every year during high water, but this is not all bad, because the fine sand carried by the river water They are all uniform particles that have been selected by water, without any colloidal particles, so layers of fertile soil will accumulate on the river bank——Sergio Rivera lived in the Po River in northern Italy since he was a child The family also has land in the plains, so they are very aware of the fertility of the silt soil layer brought by this flood. Although people who farm here often face the threat of floods, it is not insurmountable.

Rivera noticed that a little farther away from the river bank, there was a large piece of flat farmland, where tall wheat seedlings had already grown. He guessed that it hadn’t been too long since the land was leveled out, and the spring wheat was all supplementary. Planted, because there are still many conspicuous bushes in the field that have not had time to clear up.However, considering the fertile alluvial soil here, many disadvantages can be offset, and the future output will only increase.

Thinking of this, Rivera found himself becoming more and more envious of those East Coast pioneers who were working in various costumes and speaking with various accents, because the smiles on their faces were sincere, and everyone five Mu of land - of course, if you have money, you can naturally buy more land at the price of 7-10 yuan per mu, instead of being limited to the land provided by the government for free - it is enough for them to gain a foothold here and start a family Not to mention the huge subsidies their government provided during the first three years of extremely erratic agricultural harvests.

"It's a wonderful life, no wonder more and more people in Italy are willing to come to the east coast to live, especially the young girls. Let them endure the squalor, poverty and hopelessness in the small and crowded Italy It's not fair, I've accused these girls of serving behind the Spanish and French armies in droves, but if they choose to live on the east coast, I don't think I will feel so strongly Although the religious atmosphere here is depressing, my descendants and I will never immigrate to the east coast, but what does it matter to women?" Sergio Rivera silently I thought about it, and then recalled the meal this morning. The large clams, snow-white mussels, and corned beef, which is said to be cheap enough for slaves to eat, are already the most common food for the residents of Chile. It is a great pity that the rich products accumulated by God's gift over the years are now enjoyed by the people on the east coast. Why did the Spaniards lose these lands?

Several large wooden houses are being built on both sides of the river bank, and Rivera knows that they are there to house relatively large steam pumps.This kind of steam engine pump has a large volume, high horsepower, and is also powerful in eating coal. It is generally built on the main road of the river. It can not only discharge water for irrigation canals, but also replenish or pump water for rivers, which is convenient for shipping.

In contrast to this huge, high-horsepower steam engine, there is also a relatively small steam engine, the most popular of which is 7.5 horsepower.This kind of small steam engine (generally used for pumping water) often used in agriculture adopts a vertical fire tube boiler, and the speed of heat transfer, fire and steam is very fast. This feature determines that it can be used as a continuous working environment. It can also be used in intermittent work places (this can effectively save the cost of coal, firewood and other fuels); moreover, the steam engine has only three parts, which is light in weight and can be carried by a few people, so it is very convenient to use. The east coast is so popular - it's not that Rivera hasn't consulted the east coast people about the market sales of this 7.5 horsepower steam engine, but unfortunately, the east coast people not only prohibit exporting to foreign countries, but even foreign companies investing in the country Or they can't buy it personally. At best, they can only negotiate with familiar collaborators on the east coast and observe it up close.

Compared with this baby-like small 7.5-horsepower steam engine, people on the east coast are not so concerned about the large-scale steam engine with hundreds of horsepower (generally older technology), not only like the Luocha Textile Factory Such joint ventures can be used on a large scale, and even joint ventures such as forest development companies can also be rented. Although the operators are all from the east coast, they can observe them at a close distance, and in the long run, they can also be tricked by the other party's operators and maintenance personnel. I found a lot of useful things - the reason for this is that Rivera guessed that it might be related to the fact that the British have already created a similar steam machine. Although it is very primitive, very sloppy, and very low in reliability, the price is quite expensive. But if you have it, you have it, and it will gradually become popular in the foreseeable future. After all, it is cheaper and more efficient than using livestock such as mules and horses, isn't it?

Perhaps because of the poor road conditions, the carriage finally arrived at its final destination, Boling Town, on the morning of November 11, and the condition of the carriage was already seriously worrying, requiring maintenance. For this, Rivera had to pay more After paying a fee, they left and went to the office they set up here (only two or three people are currently making preliminary preparations).

Boling Town currently has a population of over 100, more than half of whom are of Spanish or Indo-European descent.This colonial town, which was founded more than [-] years ago, is currently in slight chaos. Europeans of mixed race migrated to New China and other overseas colonies to "pure native" people.

Although Sergio Rivera felt that this approach was cruel, especially for those of mixed race, many of them had already obtained the certificate of "blood purification" through donations to the king, and became white in the legal sense ——Blood purification only allows mixed-race people with at least 50% white blood to apply, less than 50% white blood (Spanish people with 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 until 1/128 white blood) It is very difficult to have this opportunity—if even they have to be driven away, then this is really terrible, and it is easy to provoke the Spaniards to rule The backlash of the large Indo-European population.

However, as far as Sergio Rivera is concerned, he does not think this method is so unacceptable, because in his perception, the Indian blood is undoubtedly inferior, and The intelligence of people who are mixed with Indians is also quite doubtful, so it is better to clear them all. Anyway, their life may not be so bad when they go to overseas colonies, and it is always a way to survive.

Rivera and his entourage rested in the office in the town for one night. The next day, they left the carriage and, accompanied by officials from the East Bank Ministry of Industry and Commerce and a dozen guards and guides sent by Boling Town, headed eastward all the way. Headed straight for the destination, and arrived at this newly established settlement marked on the map as "Xinchu Township" in the afternoon-more precisely, it is a reclamation area with only about 400 people. village.

"The sulfur mine is to the east of the Great Lake (Puyehue Lake), and there is no one living there yet. We plan to set up a small village there, mainly to grow food, melons, fruits and vegetables, which can be regarded as a support for your company. Well. After all, it’s not easy for you to come here all the way, and it’s normal for us to cooperate.” A young cadre from Boling Town said to Rivera and the others: “Sulfur is a good thing, everyone I know, but collecting those things is really hard and dangerous. If ordinary people are not poor, they will definitely not go to such a place to make a living. It would be great if you can come to invest, and the town can also pay some taxes. , the villagers can also earn some income by selling food."

"Thank you very much for your help. Prince Cosimo of our country has made it clear that he will invest in the sulfur mine here. The total amount will not be less than 300 million bank lire, and he will recruit personnel in Italy and purchase labor tools in your country. , food, medicine and some weapons.” Sergio Rivera stood on the shore of Lake Puyehue, overlooking the huge and continuous volcanoes to the east of the lake, and said in a firm tone: “We should In the second half of next year (1670), the personnel, materials and tools will be transported in place, and the nearby sulfur can be mined as soon as the end of the year, and it is expected that there will be output in 1671. I am very confident in the future of this mine, and I will confirm it It will bring us benefits. Moreover, one of the two major tributaries of the Bueno River originates from Lake Puyehue. Perhaps in the future, sulfur can be transported by small boats through this river to the seaside, and the cost will be much lower. I don't know what's going on with the navigability of this river..."

(End of this chapter)