Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1640 Central Valley ([-])

"Can more prisoners be exiled from the mainland?" This question was asked by the warden when he left after the inspection of the Slat House Prison. Unfortunately, Xu Xiangdong could not give a clear answer to this , It's not because of confidentiality or other factors, it's because he really doesn't know, after all, this matter involves all aspects of interests.

That's right, it is the interests of all aspects, because to a certain extent, the exile of prisoners is also a kind of resource!Regardless of the fact that the total population of the East China Republic has reached a historical high of 289.63—according to statistics and estimates, the current proportion of Ming people is about 41%; the proportion of native-born population continues to rise, reaching 44%; white men The proportion remained at 7%, and the number of white women fell to 8% due to the reduction in the source of female slaves; as for the number of non-nationals, it has further decreased, and it is only about 28.8 at present. The number of prisoners increased is quite a lot, and the number of those who were sentenced to exile is not a small number, but the problem is that all overseas colonies need population, and they all need exiled prisoners to fill the gap. Why should the superiors treat you in Chile alone?

The Far East needs exiles, Australia needs exiles, Rabaul and Tahiti need exiles, South Africa needs exiles, the Caribbean needs exiles, New China and Djibouti need exiles, you see, exiles are needed everywhere, There are institutions or suggestions for managing prisoners everywhere. In Chile, let's line up according to the rules.Therefore, Xu Xiangdong really couldn't agree to the request of the warden of the slat house, and finally could only respond vaguely, and the other party obviously understood what he meant, and was obviously disappointed.

Fortunately, the warden actually knew something about this, so in the end he just smiled helplessly and sent Xu Xiangdong and others away.When they reached the gate, an execution was also going on in the courtyard inside the wall, to be precise, it was whipping.

The reason why the prisoner was whipped was that he could not bear the hard physical labor during the reclamation period and chose to escape again. Therefore, in order to warn the rest of the people, the Slat House Prison sent cavalry to capture him and sentenced him to 90 whips.For those who know, this is not a very light punishment, enough to make this fugitive unforgettable.

Xu Xiangdong glanced over there, and saw that there was a sloping bench in the yard. There were several holes on the bench, which were used to tie up the prisoners' hands and feet. It looked a bit like a long bench for slaughtering pigs.The fugitive had already been tied up by two guards. He didn't struggle, and seemed to be planning to bear all this silently.

An executioner (who also looked like an exile) came over bare-chested. He first pulled the prisoner's trousers down to his knees, then turned his head to look at a prison guard, and after getting his permission, put the The whip in his hand hit him hard.The prisoner immediately uttered a scream—no, it was no longer a scream, but a hiss—and his whole body convulsed with pain.

"A moment." The guard said with his hands behind his back, expressionless.

The executioner didn't stop, and continued to beat the prisoner vigorously. After five strokes, he moved to the other side and gave the victim half a minute to rest. Of course, all this was done under the watchful eyes of the guards. It's the rules.

The execution was still going on, and as the number of whippings increased, many of the whip marks on the victim's body had been covered, so that every subsequent beating would tear the victim's flesh and blood.

"Sir, I was wrong, I shouldn't have escaped, please forgive me, please forgive me." The prisoner cried out because of the pain, his nose and tears mixed together, and he looked miserable. He continued to beg for mercy: "I was fascinated by ghosts for a while, and I really didn't dare to run away again. Really, please forgive me, don't hit me."

The prisoner's cries had no effect, and the executioner continued to swing the whip because he had not received the order to stop.And after 40 beats, the victim stopped crying because he vomited and looked like he was drunk; after 50 beats, he was already a little delirious and could only He let out some groans, and he didn't know what he was muttering in his mouth; after more than [-] times, he even groaned softly, and the pain on his body was relieved due to numbness, but it seemed that he was completely useless...

During the execution, all other active prisoners in the prison were also brought out by the guards, and the whole team stood by to observe.These murderous people who are usually rebellious and rebellious, will be silent like cicadas, and they dare not show their air.From the first minute of the execution to the present, it didn't take long, but everyone felt as if a century had passed.

After beating ninety times, the guards stepped forward to loosen the prisoner's hands and feet, and helped him up.This person's skin was torn and bloody, his teeth were chattering, his face was sallow, his face was covered with snot and tears, his eyes were out of focus, and he was in a completely free state.

After dousing his head with a bucket of cold water, this man was thrown into the cell by the guards like a dead dog.They plan to interrogate him in a few days, because he obviously has other crimes on him, such as stealing a horse from the public house before escaping, and it is now missing. This is also a felony in southern Chile where supplies are scarce!

Xu Xiangdong watched the entire process of the punishment with relish, and then smiled and said to the warden: "In troubled times, severe punishment should be used. Although your place is not in troubled times, it is not much different in terms of the complexity of the situation. How about it, although you The prison is under the joint supervision of the Ministry of Justice and the State Development Administration, and has no business guidance relationship with our system, but after I go back, I can help you allocate some equipment and manpower within the scope of my authority. Well, not too many Yes, there are at most 50 reserve soldiers, and it is impossible to stay here with you. There are still some indigenous people in the mountains and forests inside Chiloe Island. The above means to strengthen the cleanup and purify the whole island. After all, it is our southern Chile now. The largest food producing area and the main processing area of ​​seafood should not be ignored. In addition, some small fishing villages, sulfur mines, and logging camps in the western foothills of the Andes are often attacked by some inexplicable attacks, so I cannot arrange too many people for you. I hope you can understand. "

"Mr. Xu is very interesting. 50 reserve soldiers can do a lot of things." Hearing this, the prison warden laughed, showing some leaky front teeth. He pointed to the forest, plains and mountains behind the prison. , Said in a tone that sounded very heroic: "With these brave men who are old in battle, together with our original troops, we can deal with threats to mines, farms, and fishing grounds (the people on the east coast are in southern Chile) There are a lot of trout in the lakes and rivers in the lake, which has gradually become an industry), and the Araucan people in the pastures were wiped out, and they were frightened. When we continue to develop in the future, we can also reduce a lot of unnecessary troubles. "

Xu Xiangdong nodded when he heard the words, and then bid farewell to the Slat House Prison, and took more than ten followers and guides along a small road in the northwest.He wants to continue to look north, preferably to see the situation of the Spaniards, so that he can advance various policies in a targeted manner after returning.

So, from January 1673, 1, they began their inspection in the southern section of the fertile Central Valley of Chile-or it would be more accurate to say that the staff travel in other countries-during this inspection, they saw Seeing the huge agricultural potential and mineral potential (mainly sulfur mines) in the Central Valley, the idea of ​​occupying it in my heart has been strengthened.

Along the way, they also saw many Spanish farms.Among them are large-scale manors and self-cultivating farmers (mostly immigrants who originally worked in the manor and then obtained their own land), mainly planting potatoes, wheat, and grapes, and grazing some goats.

These people don't seem to be too resistant to the people on the east coast, but rather numb. Of course, this may have something to do with their relative weakness.The relationship between these Spanish white colonists and the exiled prisoners on the east bank is very delicate. The arrival of the east bankers objectively invigorates the local economy and reduces the harm of the indigenous Araucans, but at the same time they invaded the Spanish Land, forest farms, pastures and fishing grounds, so the relationship between the two parties is a delicate one.

Xu Xiangdong and the others did not have much contact with them, but after a quick look around, they arrived in Maolin County in the south in mid-to-late January, which is also the location of the Southern Chile Regional Security Command. The headquarters of the Third Fleet of the Navy in Liucheng County echoed each other.

The population of Maolin County is also quite large now. The total population of the county has exceeded 6000. If the population of the county seat is counted in addition to the large number of businessmen and helpers, it will stabilize at [-] to [-]. This shows that the local business is also very prosperous. What's more, it is also the last supply port for ships on the east coast going northward along the cold current of Peru, so both agriculture and industry and commerce have developed quite well.

Yu Xingguo's Xingguo Trading Company now maintains a warehouse in the Port of Araucan, and most of the energy of the company's daily operations has been transferred to Maolin City.Today, several merchant ships planning to go to the east coast docked at Maolin Port. As the largest shareholder of these ships, Yu Xingguo personally came to the pier to see them off. Xu Xiangdong, who planned to take a boat from the pier to Fenggu Island (that is, Chiloe Island) to inspect the militia training work, so the two chatted along the way.

As well-known local entrepreneurs and members of the Maolin County Political Consultative Conference, Yu Xingguo and Xu Xiangdong are also very familiar with each other, so there is nothing to avoid chatting between them.

"This time the lineup is not small. You actually sent four ships to the Far East. Did your family sink two ships last year? How did you recover so quickly? Did you get a loan from the bank?" Sitting in a quiet teahouse on the pier Inside, Xu Xiangdong asked.

"Yes, I asked the United Industrial Credit Bank for help. Fortunately, I asked Qiang Xiaoman through your relationship, and the loan came down quickly, and the interest rate is very favorable. I really want to thank you this time." Yu Xingguo said lightly. Gently rubbing the lid of the teacup in his hand, he said sincerely: "Last year was really miserable. The two ships were full of raw silk, tea, bristles, silk and satin, and there were dozens of township parties and relatives of several big families in the east. , all sunk in the Pacific Ocean. It still hurts to think about it now. The loss of nearly 10 yuan, although the insurance company also paid part of the compensation, and it was not all my goods, but the loss was really huge, so that Even this year, there is not enough money to order ships, purchase goods, and hire sailors."

"You're not bad. There are not a few people who go bankrupt or even lose their lives. Look, how many ocean-going trading companies are registered in our country every year, but what is the average life expectancy of these companies? Hehe, it is often the beginning of the year. It's not easy to do business because of the sinking of the ship at the end of the year when the creditor blocked the door. It's already very impressive that your Yu family's trading company has been able to open safely until now. Of course, your mother's family background is strong enough, Enough for you to squander is also an important reason, haha." Xu Xiangdong said with a smile: "Otherwise, you would have gone bankrupt like those people long ago. You must know that in the ocean trade industry, a comeback has always been just a beautiful fairy tale. Now The captain, chief mate, bosun, navigator, etc. working on various ships, there should not be too many people who are in debt."

"There are several ships going to the Far East this time. In addition to our own goods, do you have a lot of public goods?" Xu Xiangdong asked again.

"A lot, almost half to half." Yu Xingguo and Xu Xiangdong are also old friends and have nothing to hide, so he said: "Chocolate, canned food, spirits, bandages, medicines, tents, cowhide water bladders, ammunition bags, military boots , Spearheads, sabers, muskets (including spare barrels), artillery (including spare gun carriages) and other military supplies are extremely large, and there are also quite a lot of production materials such as old steam engines, old machine tools, new parts, hardware tools, and measuring tools, and their value is huge. Compared with these things, some woolen textiles, wine, metal agricultural tools, clocks and other commodities that I buy at home are a bit out of hand. When I go to the Far East, I can’t even get money from the branch offices of the Northwest Reclamation Bank or the Bank of Taiwan. Otherwise, there is no sufficient funds to trade with the Chinese. Those people are like silver black holes. Every time we go, we have to subsidize half of the cash, which is really annoying. Those Chinese are willing to live a poor life. I'm not very willing to buy any products made overseas, but..."

"There are so many military supplies, and it's only your company that transports them. It is conceivable that several other companies that trade in the Far East should also have received entrustments from the mainland, let alone the huge immigration transport fleet of the country. It seems that the report sent by the inspection team from the Far East has greatly touched the members of the executive committee." Xu Xiangdong narrowed his eyes and said to himself.

(End of this chapter)