Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1635 Terrace (23)

The winter of 1672 was extremely cold for many people on the east coast, especially for those who lived in the Patagonian plateau, where the winter was harsher than elsewhere.

The westerly wind with a speed of more than [-] kilometers per hour roared through the small town on the wasteland, and the leaves of the industrial windmill outside were blown loudly. The rapid power was transmitted to the connecting rods through the central machine room, driving a pulverizer to whimper. It is running, grinding a large amount of golden yellow wheat into fine flour.

Needless to say, the wind has always been one of the main sources of power in the area around the Patagonian plateau.The strong wind blowing from the Andes in the west provides an inexhaustible source of power for the vast Taiwan area throughout the year, such as water pumping and irrigation in the river oasis, wheat processing in the mill, edible oil pressing in the oil mill, and even blasting in the brick kiln. Blowing requires this kind of cheap energy, because there is no charcoal, firewood, or coal here, only the wild west wind all year round.

The development of the industrial windmills of the East Coast people has gone through several generations.From the 20-horsepower windmill originally imported from the Netherlands to now, Dongan people have developed five types of industrial windmills, with power from the smallest 20 horsepower to the largest 300 horsepower. The application range is wider and wider, and the technology is getting better. more and more advanced.

Even at the beginning of this year (1672), the United Provinces also purchased some industrial windmill technology and parts from the east coast to provide the utilization rate of a large number of domestic windmills, which many people talked about.You must know that the Dutch may not be as good as the East Coast in terms of steam engines, but they have used windmills for many years before the East Coast people, and their technical accumulation in this kind of thing is not necessarily lower than the East Coast people.

Give an example to have an intuitive understanding.In the lowland areas blessed by nature, especially the Zaan River basin in the west of Amsterdam, the terrain is flat and the wind is strong. Therefore, a large number of industrial windmills have gathered, and the business of water diversion, drainage, sawing, grinding, and wrought iron has been integrated. Therefore, The area has also become a famous industrial area in the Netherlands.According to the information of the Dutch, there are probably hundreds of industrial windmills operating in this area all year round. Especially after the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War, the eastern region was threatened by war, so many factory owners moved their production sites to the west. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Leiden, Haarlem and other places have rebuilt a large number of industrial windmills here, providing a steady stream of power for industrial production.

Even many towns have windmills on the city walls and fortresses, which are used to raise water during wartime, which shows how far the Dutch have used wind power!According to historical statistics, there were about 17 windmills in the United Provinces in the second half of the 8000th century, and there were still 1900 windmills in 2000, and 1950 windmills in 1306, but most of them were in a state of disrepair and could not be built. It works normally and can only be used as a scenery for tourists to watch.

However, due to the huge gap in basic knowledge—mainly geometry, mathematics and mechanics—although the Dutch used windmills earlier, they were far less thorough than the latecomers from the East Coast.Because the Mechanics Institute of Engineering Technology Research Institute on the East Bank has been tracking and researching for a long time, and has known the specific quantitative relationship between the output power of the windmill, the wind speed, and the wings of the windmill, that is, they have concluded that a large industrial windmill with a wingspan of 30 meters ( Because of their large size and high cost, there are only a few of these industrial windmills on the east coast, and most of them are located along the South Cone Railway where the westerly wind is stronger. The power is about 20 horsepower; when the wind force is level four, it quickly climbs to about 65 horsepower; The total power of the central transmission system funded by the government has increased, which is astonishing.

Moreover, in many places in southern Patagonia, the usual wind force is likely to exceed level five, so if there are large industrial windmills, they can theoretically obtain a greater output power of more than 220 horsepower, but they Usually don't need too amazing power, so a lot of wind energy is wasted in vain in the end.The windmills currently used by the Dutch are not as good as those on the east coast in terms of size, power at the shaft, transmission efficiency, or the precision and durability of the parts. Therefore, it is normal to spend money on new technology and durable parts. After all, their country cannot do without windmills, otherwise production and life will be greatly affected.

The industrial windmill that will be built in Nam Ding Port (later Commodore Rivadavia City, a newly established settlement this year) is nothing more than a small and medium-sized windmill with a maximum output of tens of horsepower. It is invested by the state. It is used to grind flour and saw wood for local residents. It is very practical, but the loud noise it makes day and night is unbearable. For example, Meng Xiaohu was woken up by the loud and endless noise.

"It's too noisy, even taking a nap doesn't make people sleep well." After yawning lightly, Meng Xiaohu, who was already fully dressed, stretched his waist, and then led a group of horses from the stables, comforting him while comforting him. Turning to the people behind him, he said, "Let's go early. I wonder if staying in this crappy place will cause me a nervous breakdown. It's too noisy. It was designed by some bastard, and the industrial windmill was actually built near the township government. It's not nonsense."

The group of people who were sorting out their luggage and equipment on the field immediately laughed and said, "Captain, we wanted to leave here a long time ago, it's really noisy. But didn't you see you drinking and drinking with people here the other day? Didn't mention it."

"Good boy, you dare to mock me for not doing this job, only drinking. I think the allowance for this inspection will be halved for the time being. After you come back, you will decide whether to give it all or not according to your performance." Meng Xiaohu said deliberately. Lian said, then got on the horse's back, turned around slowly twice, then flicked the whip vigorously, and galloped to the wilderness.

The group of people packing the luggage smiled at each other, took the time to pack the luggage, and sent them to the pack horses. After greeting the cadres of the Nanding Township Government, they headed towards the western hinterland OK to go.During this trip, they were entrusted by the State Development Bureau. They planned to go westward from the Nanding Port area to the hinterland of the platform, and conduct a comprehensive and detailed investigation of the local environment, climate, and vegetation conditions. New settlements are provided for reference.

The final destination of Meng Xiaohu and others was the area around the famous Corvehuapi Lake and Mustes Lake in the later Patagonian Terrace.Two months ago, a small group of East Coast cavalry went there. At that time, they chased all the way from Hai'an County in the northeast along the Chico River Valley, and then completely dispersed and captured a tribe of indigenous Indians. , so it is relatively safe here, and there should be no indigenous tribes.

Korwevapi Lake and Mustes Lake have been officially named Twin Lakes by the East Coast Department of Geology, where the former is the East Lake in the Twin Lakes and the latter is the West Lake.Among these two lakes, East Lake covers an area of ​​more than 800 square kilometers and is one of the largest freshwater lakes on the east coast.It occupies a not-deep basin, and the deepest part of the lake is only four meters; in contrast, although the area of ​​the West Lake next to it is only more than 400 square kilometers, the average depth of the lake reaches hundreds of meters , This water capacity is naturally not comparable to East Lake.

The main reason for this situation is that the West Lake is supplied with water by the Senkel River flowing from the Andes in the west. Therefore, only when the West Lake is filled with water, the excess water will slowly overflow. into the next East Lake, thus causing a huge difference between the twin lakes.

Later generations of Argentines built a city with a population of tens of thousands between these two lakes, which shows that this land is a geomantic treasure. How many people?You must know that this place is neither like the rich oil reserves in the Neuquen area, nor the high-quality coal with the best quality and largest reserves in the country like the Heishan Township in the south, nor the river formations like the Chubut River and Ludang River. The oasis can gather so many people because of the relatively good climate here!To put it bluntly, there is water here, a lot of water!

In fact, in a place like Patagonia, if the water source is sufficient, it is relatively easy to develop a medium-scale agricultural area.Not to mention the areas of Chubut River, Ludang River, and Baoxing River, but just the area around the Shuangzi Lake in front of us. Relying on its abundant water volume, there is no doubt that it can develop a complex integrating grain planting, orchards, fruit trees, and cattle and sheep husbandry. agricultural area.And relying on this agricultural area, people on the east coast can easily control the surrounding land of tens of thousands or even 10,000+ square kilometers, which is not an exaggeration.

Therefore, after the development of the Patagonian platform has entered a new stage, settlements have been established in good places in the north (relatively speaking, of course). After development to a certain extent, the colder and drier places in the south , and gradually entered the eyes of Yang Mingyang and Cai Huaze, the two powerful figures in Patagonia—the actions of the Meng Xiaohu expedition team are a concrete manifestation of their will.

On August 1672, 8, Meng Xiaohu and his party of six to seventy people arrived at the Shuangzi Lake area with the rare green grass that is rarely seen in Taiwan without spending a few days.In this lake area filled with a lot of water vapor, the vegetation on the ground is completely different from what we saw along the way.Sharp-eyed people have long discovered that the soft and juicy pastures here mean that it is possible to raise cattle on a large scale, instead of only raising sheep like other parts of the Taiwan region. Patagonia has a harsh environment and many Low shrubs and thorny weeds that grow close to the ground, these things can only be eaten by sheep, and cattle cannot eat them due to the physiological structure of their mouths—not to mention that water-saving agriculture can also be vigorously developed here, and grains can be grown. In short, here With all the necessary conditions to become a beautiful oasis on the Gobi Desert, it is indeed not a random decision to set up a settlement here.

It is worth mentioning that with the development of the country and society, the upper class has basically reached a consensus, such as the arid Patagonia, the hot and humid Jiaohe area, and the relatively remote and dangerous Yicheng area, the early development will be more by the The non-national laborers who have been regularized will bear the burden.Taking Patagonia as an example, the region could originally receive an immigration quota of about 6000 people per year. Usually, most of them are immigrants from the Ming Dynasty, mixed with a small number of non-national laborers who have become regular workers.But after the new policy comes out, at least two-thirds of the 6000 people will be replaced by regular laborers, and the remaining 2000 people will be selected from the new immigrants from the Far East (as a family as much as possible)—from here It can be seen that non-national laborers are also unlucky enough. After five years of hard work, they are still "discriminated against" even if they become regular workers. Most of them cannot stay in the bustling and livable East In the coastal prairie and Yazihu ​​area, they can only settle in places where life is more difficult and the environment is harsher. It is really aggrieved to think about it, but there is no way to do it.

"The new Shuanghu Township (located near the later Salmiento City) can almost be located here." Meng Xiaohu stuck a spear in the ground and said: "There is also a water conservancy facility to be built here. It connects the two lakes in the east and the west. The communication between the two lakes now depends entirely on the overflow after the water is full. The construction of a large water pumping station with multiple industrial windmills is also on the agenda. Once this is done, I can guarantee that a prosperous city with a large population will soon develop here."

In fact, later Salmiento in Argentina was built on the oasis between the two lakes.The city uses lake and river water to irrigate small areas of vegetable and fruit plantations, and raises large herds of livestock such as cattle and sheep, and then supplies food to Rivadavia in the east by rail - located in San Jorge Bay. Vadavia is the largest oil producing area in Argentina. It is the fastest-growing and most populous settlement in Patagonia in later generations. It mainly exports oil and wool and is the core of the mid-latitude region of Patagonia. City.

However, in the [-]th century when oil could not be exploited, Nam Ding Port (or Riva Davia) was doomed to become only an outer port for importing and exporting goods in Shuanghu Township. Shuanghu Township, which has water sources and agricultural areas, is the Boss, if Nanding Township wants to think about it, it will probably have to wait until the era when oil, an energy source, becomes popular.

On August 1672, 8, after spending a few days carefully inspecting the environment, soil and vegetation in the nearby area, Meng Xiaohu was very sure of successfully establishing a colony here.Therefore, while instructing his subordinates to continue to conduct more in-depth and detailed investigations, he began to write the outline of the investigation report.

(End of this chapter)