Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 34 A Difficult Beginning

On February 2, the construction of the small brick kiln was completed. The more than 17 people who stayed in Shixing Fort rested for only one day before they started to clear the forest land burned by the fire with various tools.

Remove tree roots, fill potholes, build ditches, dig up the soil, and clean up all kinds of debris after the fire.

More than one hundred Native Americans were also called over and provided with a meal, and were taught step by step how to clear the land.

The development and evolution levels of many Indian tribes on the west coast of North America are obviously much lower than those of the Indian tribes in South America. Not to mention that they are far inferior to the Indians on the east coast, they are even inferior to them.

Hundreds of years ago, the Indian tribes on the East Coast simply planted some crops, such as corn, potatoes, pumpkins and other crop varieties that are highly adaptable to the environment and climate, which became their main source of food.

However, these poor West Coast Indians did not know any agricultural cultivation at all. They lived only by hunting, gathering, and fishing in rivers and along the coast. Their lives were extremely difficult.

In winter, if they cannot find enough food, they often go hungry or even die of hunger and cold.

To some extent, this has also prevented the number of Indians on the West Coast from increasing, so that this vast area has never been able to be further developed and has always remained in an ignorant and primitive state.

And now that there is civilization here, it is natural that traces of civilization will be left behind.

Half a year ago, houses, wooden forts, fireworks, muskets, and swords appeared here one after another. Now there are more farmlands, canals, and farm tools.

Speaking of agricultural tools, we have to mention that Shixing Fort actually does not have many real agricultural tools.

After capturing the Spanish galleon "San Louis", after a careful inventory, only more than 50 axes, seven or eight saws and six pickaxes were found.

There were no hoes or shovels to use for tilling the soil, not even a sickle to cut the grass.

In order to level the burned field, Shixingbao spent several days making several simple wooden plows with relatively hard wood to turn over the soft soil.

As for how to plow the land, people were naturally used as oxen and horses, dragging a hemp rope, bending over, and moving forward step by step with difficulty.

Due to the simplicity of the tools and the fact that most people had never done farm work, the entire development work was extremely slow.

With the help of more than one hundred Native Americans, it took the people of Shixing Fort five days to level more than two hundred acres of land.

Moreover, these leveled fields are not yet suitable for growing crops. We may have to wait until the "Breaking Waves" returns and brings back more and more suitable agricultural tools before we can transform these primitive fields into real farmland.

"Next time the Wavebreaker goes out hunting, I'll definitely apply to go with it. I definitely won't stay in the camp."

In the evening, the "farmers" who had worked hard all day returned to the camp one after another, dragging their tired bodies. When the student soldier Mo Tianhai entered the house, he immediately lay down on the bed and did not get up for a long time.

"You're so tired from just this little work?" Roommate Zhang Lifeng, though also feeling a pang of backache, couldn't help but sneer at his companion's state. "You have to understand, farmers work hard all year long to cultivate the land! Have you ever heard a farmer complain of being tired? You city dwellers are so spoiled! Now's the time to experience the life of a farmer. Otherwise, you'd think food comes easily, but every grain is the product of hard work! ... If you ask me, who in this world can endure hardship the most? It's the farmers."

"You make it seem like you've plowed and farmed before!" Mo Tianhai lazily turned over and complained, "Back then, how many farmers still toiled in the fields like they used to? Haven't most of them mechanized their farming? I remember Old Duan telling me earlier that in Heilongjiang, farming was all mechanized, so there was no need for human labor!"

"Are you ignorant?" Zhang Lifeng picked up his cup from the wooden table, unscrewed the lid, and took a deep swig. "In the northern plains, especially in the Northeast, mechanized farming is definitely possible. But in many rural areas of Hunan, the arable land is small and the terrain is inconvenient. Both farming and harvesting still rely on manual labor. Our area is relatively good, as some farmland can use small agricultural machinery. If you look at the mountainous areas of Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guizhou, the agricultural conditions are even more difficult. Even if there are machines, they can't be used!"

"Oh..." Mo Tianhai just smiled bitterly after hearing this.

In his life, he never imagined that one day he would go to the fields to farm and tend the crops himself.

Alas, what a cruel fate!

"Captain, do you think they'll kidnap a group of Spaniards from Mexico and have them help us farm?"

"Probably not." Wei Zhonglong, who had just entered the room, interrupted after hearing this and said, "We are only more than fifty people. We haven't even completely subdued the captured Spaniards. Plus, there are still one or two hundred Indians. We can't take care of them all at once! If we get back a few hundred more Spaniards, we will become a real minority! ... From now on, who of us dares to close our eyes at night!" "Oh, that's a pity!" Mo Tianhai smacked his lips and said rather discouragedly, "I originally thought that the captain and his men could get some people back, so we don't have to do rough labor in the future."

"Well, it would be better to get you a few more Spanish horses so that you can taste the taste of women!" Wei Zhonglong said, winking obscenely at the people in the room.

"Spanish horses?" Mo Tianhai was immediately amused when he heard this, and waved his hand with a smile, "What's so good about a Spanish horse? If you ask me, we should take some time to go to the Ming Dynasty and bring back a few beautiful princesses to be our wives. That would be the perfect life!"

"Oh, you want to marry a princess from the Ming Dynasty?" Wei Zhonglong showed an exaggerated expression of surprise upon hearing this. "That's not easy! Then we have to fight our way to Beijing, break into the Forbidden City, oh, it should be called the Purple Forbidden City now, and then rush in to subdue the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Only then will we have the opportunity to propose marriage. As for the betrothal gift, you can just give them tens of thousands of AKs and hundreds of cannons, and then you can marry her. By the way, you have to ask the emperor of the Ming Dynasty for some dowry. We don't ask for much, just Guangdong Province."

"Ha... tens of thousands of AKs, hundreds of cannons?" Mo Tianhai laughed. "If we had all that, why would we even bother asking for marriage? We could just destroy the Ming Dynasty. Then, those princesses would just become my wives!"

"Vulgar!" Wei Zhonglong scolded with a smile, "How could you be so mean! You want to kill the emperor just to get a wife? How cruel! Even if the princess marries you, she will definitely be unhappy! Maybe, she will give her body to you, but her heart belongs to someone else."

"Tsk! I married the princess just for her body, what else could I do with her?"

"Worse than a beast!"

"Oh, are you just like a beast?"

"..."

"Ha ha……"

"Ha ha……"

Several people were fighting, laughing and cursing wantonly, as if they wanted to relieve the depression and confusion in their hearts in this way.

Coming to this new world, you need to create everything by yourself, from nothing to something, from simple to complex, from a little bit to a string, from survival to existence, and then to development.

In fact, compared with the early development of the British colonies on the west coast, Shixing Fort had a good start. At least the loss rate was extremely low. From July 7th to the present, only five people died and 5 survived.

In 1607, Britain organized the first group of immigrants to go to America to establish a permanent colony. A total of 144 people successfully arrived at the mouth of the James River and built a settlement called Jamestown.

However, due to lack of food and clothing, as well as acclimatization problems, by the time the supply ship arrived the following year, only 144 of the original 38 people were alive, a loss rate of 74%!

In 1609, the British brought in more than 300 immigrants, but only more than 100 of them survived, with a loss rate of nearly %.

When the Mayflower, regarded as a symbol of the American Empire, first arrived in Plymouth, North America, there were 102 people on board, and a baby was born on the way. Everything seemed so beautiful.

However, by the time they arrived at their destination, half of the people were dead.

Then, after a cold winter, many immigrants died of hunger and cold. The violent snowstorms, the depletion of food, and the continuous diseases made this group busy with funerals and mourning banquets almost every day. An unprecedented atmosphere of despair enveloped the entire group.

If this group of people had not met some kind-hearted Indians who rescued them, they would most likely have been wiped out in the spring of the following year and disappeared into the dust of history.

Oh, and by the way, during this period, the number of British immigrants (not all immigrants were from the UK) in Plymouth had grown to 4000-4500.

At Fort Shixing, the total number of travelers and captured Spaniards was 116 (59 of them were Spaniards), which was only 2% of the population of the Plymouth Colony.

A spark is just beginning to take shape.

(End of this chapter)