Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 370 Hitting Grass Valley ([-])

The snow that was blowing outside was getting heavier, and under the blowing of the fierce northwest wind, it even went straight into people's collars.Yoshinosuke Imamura and some of his entourage boarded a low Japanese boat, and after saying goodbye to Mo Ming and others, they set sail south and returned to Ezo.

In the harbor where the Japanese ships left, three sailing ships were also busy loading supplies. Dock workers braved the heavy snow like goose feathers to carry buckets of hard-frozen meat onto the ships.The meat was bought by the people on the east bank from some nearby natives and slaughtered by themselves. Most of the meat came from the cattle they raised, and a small part came from wild boars, moose and other large animals that they hunted.People on the east coast cherish these hard-won animal meat supplements very much. Both internal organs and blood are properly preserved, and they are determined not to waste any nutrition.

Although Yantai Fortress has sent more than 500 refugees from the Ming Dynasty to the rear in two batches, with the arrival of winter, the number of refugees who lack food and clothing is still increasing. According to the latest report, Zhifu Island The number of refugees stranded in the region has reached a staggering 102.Xiao Xi, the commander of the 350nd Company of the Army who is temporarily in charge of the affairs there, has already issued a warning to Heishui Port. They are seriously short of food reserves and cold-proof materials, and they urgently need support from here.Although they reclaimed a large piece of wasteland near the Jiahe River in Dagu this year and interplanted sweet potatoes and corn, they found that the yield was too low when they harvested a while ago, and only about [-] tons were harvested from less than [-] mu of land. food.

This yield is even worse than that of the New China region, which claims to be barren, which is disappointing.After harvesting the grain, Xiao Xi took an inventory of the grain in his hand, and found that including the hundreds of tons of grain shipped from the mainland and the large amount of North Korean grain looted, the grain in Yantai Fortress so far was less than 450 tons. .Such a small amount of food is really not much for the current population of 6000 in Yantai Fortress, and it is enough for them to last for about three months.

And this conclusion, which lasted for three months, is based on the fact that the existing population no longer continues to increase.But the fact is that the population of Yantai Fortress has been increasing, there is no doubt about it.The soldiers watched a large number of refugees, old and young, come to the Yantai Fortress to beg for food. They did not stop these poor people without new orders, but still took them to the Zhifu Island area behind the fortress according to the previous instructions of their superiors.

Therefore, as the freezing period of the Bohai Bay was approaching, Xiao Xi had no choice but to urgently ask for help from Heishui Port, asking for a batch of food.But the problem is that Mo Ming’s own food is not enough. Currently, there are about 700 tons of potatoes, 5000 tons of wheat, and about 500 tons of various salted fish in Heishui Port and Rishiri Island.In addition, there are some moose and wild boars that are currently being purchased and slaughtered, but the number is relatively small, and the total amount is only [-] to [-] tons.At present, there are nearly [-] people in Heisui Port and about [-] people on Rishiri Island. The food consumption of these people is not a small number.You know, Heisui Port and Rishiri Island can only grow one season of crops a year, and the next grain harvest will not be until July and August at the earliest, and there will be more than half a year in the middle, and everyone can only rely on the previous grain reserves.

However, the only advantage of Heishui Port is that about 500 people will be sent south to Jinshan Port in Australia soon, which can greatly reduce local food consumption.Therefore, after careful consideration, Mo Ming decided to mobilize [-] tons of potatoes, [-] tons of salted fish and some newly slaughtered meat from Heishui Port to Yantai Port while it was not frozen.

In addition to these grains, several ships were loaded with coal gangue, peat and other things removed from the coal washing plant, which were transported to Yantai Port as heating fuel in winter.As for the supplies to keep out the cold that Xiao Xi mentioned, I'm sorry, there are really no more!When I came from the mainland, I needed to bring too many supplies. The winter coats in the cabin were limited, and they had been distributed long ago, so there was really nothing left.After everything was settled, Mo Ming took more than a hundred newly recruited natives of Sakhalin Island and boarded the armed transport ship "Businessman", together with the "Baobab Tree" and the "Fubo" full of bricks, headed towards the Yantai port in the south sailed.

On October 1643, 10, under the strong northwest wind, it took them just over three days to arrive at the Yantai Port Zhifu Island Wharf in the North Yellow Sea. At this time, Yantai also had icy rain Jiaxue seemed to be welcoming them in his own special way.A group of North Korean stickmen in cotton coats immediately ran out of the warm shack under the leadership of Jin Wugui, and then began to unload goods in a hurry.

When the barrels of fish were unloaded, the North Korean dock workers couldn't help cheering even though the "vicious" people on the east coast were by their side.It was no secret to everyone that there was insufficient food in the camp, especially when the number of refugees from the Ming Dynasty was still increasing day by day.At this time, the rear sent them a lot of food, and there was even so much fish in it, which made everyone not greedy.

God is sorry to see that the fresh milk produced by the cows and horses in the camp was given to the officials, women and children to drink, and some livestock meat from the occasional slaughter also entered the stomachs of these people, and the workers like them could only drink some bones Boiled soup.Although this is much better than the days in North Korea, who doesn't want to eat meat?Now that such a huge amount of fish meat has been shipped, it may be that everyone can share some of it.

After dismissing Jin Wugui who came over to flatter him, Mo Ming walked on the muddy road in high riding boots, shook hands with Xiao Xi who came to greet him, and said, "Hurry up and unload the cargo, and then store the grain properly. After unloading the cargo, the team will leave and return to Rishiri Island for the winter. In addition, the Black Water Port has to transport [-] people to Jinshan Port in Australia before the sea freezes the port. The time is tight, so let them move quickly. Come on, don't delay for several days. The weather is so cold, who knows when the port will freeze."

Xiao Xi nodded, then told Jin Wugui a few words carefully, and then said to Mo Ming: "I heard that our fishing industry has a bumper harvest this year, haha, brothers, I can also get some credit from you, let's get some Try the salmon. I heard that this kind of fish has high fat content and is very nutritious. After eating it, you will not feel hungry and will give you strength. I have to try it.”

"I almost vomited some of what you ate." Mo Ming smiled wryly, and said, "Salmon, saury, Far Eastern sardines, mackerel, and squid can be eaten until you feel nauseated. Here, then There are a few boxes next to them to remind them to be careful, there are glass jars inside, and the inside of the jars is salmon caviar, I specially left it for you."

"Hey, thank you very much." Xiao Xi was overjoyed when she heard the words, "Will you stay here next, or go to Rishiri Island or Heishui Port?"

"Just stay here." Mo Ming tightened the alpaca coat on his body, and then said: "The Heishui Port is on the right track, I entrusted everything to Sergeant Johnson, he has already managed It has been there for a year, and nothing has gone wrong, so let’s continue to take care of it. Rishiri Island is currently managed by Li Yi, but he will take three motor sailboats to load [-] Ming people to go south to Jinshan Port, Australia. It is managed by a small number of left-behind sailors."

Of the 500 refugees sent to Heishui Port from here a while ago, except for [-] who will go to Australia by boat, the remaining about [-] people will stay in Heishui Port.This is mainly because their health is really bad. Sending them to Australia at this time is simply sending them to death, so Mo Ming simply let them stay in Heishui Port, but it is clear that in this severe winter, they will still be A considerable part will not be able to survive and die.

"The weather is getting colder now, and there will be heavy snowfall in the future. The number of refugees should be less. But it will be troublesome after the beginning of spring. At that time, when the fields are green and yellow, Deng, Lai, and Qing will produce a lot. Refugees should be a high-probability event, and we must be prepared for a sudden increase in refugees." Mo Ming walked into the only brick and stone house in the fortress, sat down by the fireplace, and said while warming the fire: "Therefore, we The current food reserves are still not enough, and we have to find a way.”

Xiao Xi, who entered the house after him, naturally understood what Mo Ming meant by "find a way", but the severe winter weather in the Dengzhou area can stop people from having any ambitions.At this time, the expedition of labor teachers is quite dangerous. If it is not done well, it will cause a large area of ​​staff reduction due to bad weather.

"I won't go far." Mo Ming glanced at him and said, "Just take a walk around. Fushan County, Ninghai Prefecture, Wendeng County, Pingdu Prefecture, these places, don't worry, just go to the countryside to hunt grass valleys I won't touch a well-defended city. Of course, there are no strong-fortified cities in the local area. In short, I just took some soldiers to smash the villages of a few rural gentry and grab some food. These gentry are all unkind dogs. , I have a warehouse full of food, but hoard it and sell it at a high price, without any consideration for the life and death of ordinary people. Of course, even if they lower the price, those bankrupt refugees still can't afford it. It’s not that much, let’s plunder the few gentry under our noses.”

"Why don't you buy from them?" Xiao Xi couldn't help asking.Even though he knew that these gentry would all be traitors in the future, he still didn't want to freeze the relationship.

"One is that we don't have the money to buy it now. There are a lot of products, but they don't want them. Besides, I don't like them, that's the point. I think they don't like it, so I want to take it out on them." Mo Ming said firmly.

(End of this chapter)