Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 586 The Pearl of the Horn of East Africa

  As the inspection was about to end, more than a dozen clear gunshots sounded from the depths of the cave. The gunshots spread far away. When everyone was surprised, guards and soldiers came to report.

Lieutenant Colonel Friedman Kopf calmly nodded his head and explained to everyone; "My lord, this is punishing convicts. There are always some restless blacks trying to cause chaos. The army must take decisive measures. Stop it. There is no persuasive education, no warm influence, and no opportunity to admit mistakes and correct them. I want to ensure that the progress of the project is carried out in full according to the established plan."

  Silence, short silence...

  During Shangfeng's inspection, was it really good to make a fuss?

  Can't you wait for someone to leave?

   Colonel Lei Xiaopeng coughed slightly and broke the silence and said; "Ahem...Lieutenant Colonel Kopf has always executed military orders meticulously and made every effort to ensure that key projects are completed on schedule. This is an admiration for making great efforts.

as far as I know;

  There are many gangsters among the hard labor prisoners. The leaders and key members of some rebel tribes are not good people. They must adopt high-pressure measures to strictly control them, otherwise it is easy to cause troubles.

  The intensity of labor in the fortress is indeed very high. Fortunately, the food here is good, and the convicts can basically get enough food. This is very rare. From the management point of view, it is very...er...humane. "

  When Colonel Lei Xiaopeng said "management is humane," Wu Mozhou couldn't help but twitched his eyelids twice.

   So he said; “Achievement is the main aspect, of course, more flexible ways and methods can be adopted at work.

  Okay, this is a very successful work inspection. Our next stop is to go to Xi’an. Don’t stay here any longer, so as not to affect the military affairs on the fortress. "

  Hearing the words of the governor, the leaders of the African colonial military and politicians present immediately became active and talked;

   "Yes, yeah, what the Master Zuo said is extremely true."

   "Hehe...That said, I really miss the food in Xi'an."

   "That's not it, all Africa wants to say where the authentic Chinese food is made, it is Xi'an, and even Seoul can't match it. It is leisurely and fascinating!"

   "Seoul doesn't have that condition. You can check it out in a few years. You can make sure that tofu, soy sauce, old vinegar, etc. are all made out for you."

   "Xi'an is good, except that the weather is too hot."

   "There are only a few months in a year, but other times are fine, it's not that difficult to get used to it. When it's hot, you can go to the lake for a holiday, which feels pretty good."

  Everyone talked about going out, avoiding embarrassing topics intentionally or unintentionally.

  As early as many years ago, Lord Earl issued the "Slavery Prohibition Order", which was the first to give the black slaves of the ranch freedom and help them return to the long-lost African continent...

Overall

  Within the Red Fort’s sphere of influence, the “Slavery Prohibition” in Australia, Shangri-La Island and Borneo is well implemented. Even if some Malayan servants or Arab concubines will not be slaves, there are always alternative solutions.

  The only poor implementation is the African colonies, which are caused by special local conditions and belong to the characteristics of the current era.

  In Africa, the use of black slaves is very common. For example, the private pastures of several hundred square kilometers in German East Africa can not be taken care of by those German white immigrants who are exhausted to death.

  In the "Free State of the Congo" affiliated to Belgium, it is no secret that white farmers used black slaves in large numbers, controlled by cutting ears, arms, legs and other harsh torture laws.

On the vast continent of Africa, black slaves were commonly used by white colonists such as Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, and Portugal. The overseas Chinese immigrants who immigrated to Africa are naturally no exception, but they are not black slaves, but a kind of "bonded labor". The special existence of, belongs to the act of wiping the ball.

It is easy for Chinese immigrants to obtain land in Africa. Among the numerous mercenary groups in Somalia, basically everyone has large or small farms or pastures. They have different numbers of subordinate workers responsible for farming and grazing, so they like to catch them very much. The black trappers used the prisoners of war to reclaim the land.

  Here, many mercenaries merge the land into larger farms, and hire folks from the old villages to manage them. Generally speaking, the economic conditions are relatively favorable.

Otherwise, mercenaries can't afford expensive Arabian war horses. You must know that a qualified Arabian war horse starts at 30 pounds or more in Xi'an, and at least 80 pounds in Australia, and can easily cost three to five hundred pounds. There are many horses.

  The reason why I am engaged in this business is that I love adventure from the heart, and I am unwilling to live a life of food in the ground.

  The same is true in Mozambique. After the "Most Favorable Land Grant Law" was promulgated, a large number of Australian Chinese moved here to build plantations and farms, which often required a large number of private workers to farm, after all, it was cheap!

  Before the widespread use of agricultural mechanization, the use of a large amount of manpower for farming was the only way.

  Local officials turned a blind eye to this situation. In the initial accumulation period of capital development, it was full of exploitation and oppression. It seems that they are in this historical process...

  Xi'an-City

On the deep-water berths outside the port, dozens of ocean-going vessels are moored in a few dots. These are all ships that replenish coal, oil, drinking water, food and vegetables in Xi’an. By the way, let the crew go ashore and relax, alleviating the monotonous and boring sea. Life.

  The large ocean-going ships here are not only owned by Australia, but also ships from European countries such as France, Britain, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. All of them use Xi’an as an important supply point for transoceanic transportation, and many materials that need to be transferred are diverted here.

On the busy Eurasian trade route, from here to German Dar es Salaam, French Reunion Island, Australia to Mozambique, or to transfer materials to Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula or the Mesopotamia can be a lot of materials .

  Xi’an takes advantage of its excellent port conditions, convenient services and warehousing facilities, desirable Chinese cuisine and abundant entertainment activities, which deeply attracts ocean-going ships on the Eurasian trade line, and has set this place as a fixed replenishment point.

  Re-export trade has become a new industry in Xi'an, and the shipping industry developed from it has become more prosperous.

It should be noted;

  The permitted trade and transportation is the shipping industry. Violating the trade ban is the smuggling industry, especially the Persian Gulf ban policy in which the Ottoman Empire’s boats are not allowed to go into the sea, creating a promising gray market.

  And this...is the place where Xi'an can do its best.

  Today, Xi’an has developed into a new port city with a population of more than 178,000. With the continuous arrival of immigrant ships, it is estimated that the population will be close to 200,000 by the end of the year, becoming the coastal pearl of the Horn of Africa.

  Night time

The prosperous scene of thousands of lights in Xi'an has become an iconic sign on the coast of the Horn of Africa. The bustling streets are filled with white crew members, Arab women, black chiefs, and Chinese immigrants everywhere, and there are brightly lit restaurants and restaurants one after another. There are many tea houses, the sound of silk and bamboo, and all kinds of brothels, Chu Pavilion, Ming Dynasty prostitutes, dark treatments, casino gambling blocks, everything you can think of can be found here.

The conspicuous Chinese signs are mixed with English and French. Various European architectures can often be seen in the Chinese-style buildings. The Chenghuang Temple is next to the church, and the Taoist temple is next to the mosque. It seems to be the product of the intersection of Chinese and Western cultures, full of strong foreignness. Amorous.

  For the entire province of Somalia

Xi'an is the core of the core. According to the statistics in November 1888, the total population of the entire Somalia Province is about 390,000, of which more than 200,000 are black indigenous people, about 190,000 Chinese immigrants, and more than 160,000 Chinese live in In Xi'an and surrounding areas, another important town, Mogadishu, has only more than 20,000 Chinese (including towns and surrounding plantations).

  Assab and Ed Town got their hands late, so there were only a few thousand people. As for Humen Town (Morgada), it hasn’t been three months since they got their hands. Everything has just started construction.

  Now, Humen Town will become a new growth point affecting the regional economy.

The gravel road from Xi’an to Humen Town is under construction (it has been suspended, all black coolies mobilized to build Humen Pass). This gravel road starts in Xi’an, passes Assab to Eide Town, and finally arrives at Humen Town, and Connect with Humen.

The total length of the road is about 410 kilometers. It is almost the most important road in Somalia Province. It is the only intercity road with more than 30 kilometers. It connects four important towns in northern Somalia Province. It is basically built along the direction of the Red Sea inland. .

This gravel road will connect all the Chinese pastures, plantations, and private farms along the way. Horse-drawn carts and tractors can be used to promote the exchange of people and materials between the regions. It will become a powerful transportation artery that promotes the regional economy and has a social effect. Very significant.

  In the development plan of Somalia Province;

  In the future, we hope to build a single-track railway connecting Xi’an, Assab Town, Ede Town and Humen Town in series. The total length of the railway is also 410 kilometers.

  Don’t mince words

  Before the development of Humen Town, there is no possibility of passing the plan for the time being. A more feasible way is to mobilize private forces to raise funds and mobilize social forces to build railways.

  As the dazzling pearl of the Horn of Africa, an emerging port and trade city, Xi’an has a large number of wealthy people with a net worth of over 10,000 pounds. There are really not too many rich people!

  I’m polite to say that among all the overseas territories, Xi'an is one of the most affluent, and it is a strange flower that has grown up barbarously.

  In the Jibouti area, with the exception of a few oases, the other places are bare plateaus and mountains and the Gobi desert. There are no resources other than salt. It all depends on the extremely important geographical location, and nothing else.

  Xi’an is 137 kilometers away from the Great Hanish Island on the coastal defense front line of the Mande Strait. It was originally a town built as a logistical support base. The climate is hot, and everything except salt must be imported, including food and vegetables.

  After the hard-working Chinese immigrants arrived here, they immediately discovered the most precious resource, that is water.

Xi’an is close to the Assab River. This is a seasonal river with a total length of about 48 kilometers. The river overflows when there is a lot of rain in the cool season and flows into the Red Sea through Xi’an. When the hot season is dry, it is completely dried up every year. The riverbed was exposed for 8 months.

  It is necessary to know that 90% of Djibouti is desert and Gobi. The presence of precious fresh water means agriculture, life and green, and there will be a good harvest of food and vegetables.

  So after Lei Xiaopeng arrived here, he immediately ordered dams to be built, rivers cut off, and precious fresh water left in the river instead of flowing into the Red Sea in vain.

In the cool season of the second year, the torrential rain that fell violently could not flow smoothly into the Red Sea due to the obstruction of the riverbed and dams, causing the river to invert on a large scale. It overflowed the riverbed into the Gobi Desert in the upper and middle reaches of the Assab River, forming a vast expanse of water. The water park covers a wide area of ​​more than 30 square kilometers.

The arid Gobi Desert is fully nourished by rainwater. After the water evaporates, large tracts of weeds grow. Year after year, an oasis with an area of ​​more than 30 square kilometers has been formed here, and dense bushes have grown, artificially planted. The woods also thrive, effectively reducing the humidity in Xi'an-City, and the average temperature is lowered by as much as 3 to 4 degrees.

  According to the calculation;

After the trees become forests, this piece of forest vegetation will more effectively reduce the temperature in Xi’an city, from an average temperature of 35°C in the hot season to 29°C, and an average temperature in the cool season from 25°C to 21°C, increasing the humidity in the air. Body feeling will be more comfortable.

Because dams were built in the river, the precious water sources were prevented from leaking into the Red Sea in vain, which greatly increased the river water inventory. The season with water on the Assab River increased from 4 months to 9 and a half months, which not only solved the city of Xi’an. The main drinking water problem has improved the regional climate.

  The city of Xi’an today is lush and lush, and street trees are planted in the streets and alleys. The hot daytime also sprouts and cools down, like a garden city. This is a miracle in the hot and arid East Africa.

Here, I have to mention the outstanding contributions made by Colonel Lei Xiaopeng, the commander of the African Expeditionary Task Force. Whether it is urban greening, street parks, tree-lined sidewalks or clean environment, it is Colonel Lei Xiaopeng. Strongly lead the construction plan, and the construction is made with perseverance.

  His dream is to copy the successful experience of Australia’s native cities and build it into a real garden city.

  In the city of Xi’an, a fine of 2 pounds for felling a tree and a fine of 100 trees for replanting. Urban residents use briquettes instead of firewood to burn fire. Pastures and plantations can only buy coal to make briquettes by themselves or use straw to cook them in a pot.

  It is this attitude that attaches great importance to greening that has made the current Xi’an city more and more beautiful. The area of ​​oasis has been further expanded. While improving the climate, it has expanded the arable land and pastures to provide the city with enough food, vegetables and beef and mutton products.

The successful experience of the Assab River has greatly strengthened the confidence of Somali officials. Now the flood has entered its sixth year, and the trees and bushes nourished by rain on the oasis have grown luxuriantly. The first batch of plantations has exceeded The height of two meters shows full of vitality.

Somali province officials are preparing to continue to make a fuss about the Assab River, build strong dams, sluices, irrigation canals and diversion culverts along the river to effectively control the overflow of floodwater into the overflow area, and gradually build it into Xi’an’s rice silos, vegetables and fruits The base provides the main and non-staple food needs of the region and ends the history of grain import from the outside.

Next step;

It is planned to introduce excess floodwater into the Gobi Desert through artificial ditches, make full use of precious concentrated rainfall, continue to expand the area of ​​the oasis, improve the environment, build more fully enclosed water cellars, and make full use of the Assab River water for the benefit of civil.

  (End of this chapter)