Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 307 Colonization Team

  A few days later

   "How about, have you seen brother Si Xian?" Li Shuanzhu asked with concern.

"No, the family compound of the Marine Police District is now closed by the security department. On the surface, armed soldiers are still standing guard. In fact, there are no birds. It is just a way to show outsiders. For scale screening, I will not let him enter when the king comes."

   "If people are not allowed in, can't you pass a slip in?"

"Camp seat, my Duan Qirui has always been reliable in doing things. Brother Si Xian asked someone to bring it out. Oh, that team leader He Quanshou told us not to worry about his situation. He is cooperating with the security department to screen officers and soldiers. In the short term The inability to see each other inside, so that we don’t have to worry about it."

Having said this, Duan Qirui paused, and came over in a mysterious manner; "The team leader He Quanshou made a special gesture and told me that Brother Si Xian has passed the loyalty review. This time it may be a blessing in disguise and enter the eyes of Lord Earl. ..."

   "That's awesome." Li Shuanzhu raised his brows, obviously surprised by the news.

"Tsk tusk tusk...Isn’t it! Our brother Si Xian has the opportunity to be alone. When your boss and sister-in-law return from studying in England, maybe they will get mixed up under other people’s hands. Then Ginza You can also shake up..."

   "Okay, don't be like an old lady." Li Shuanzhu pushed Duan Qirui away with contempt, with an expression that I am not the same person as you.

  Actually

  Li Shuanzhu is even better to talk about the degree of Bapo, and he immediately reveals the truth;

"Let me tell you, Ha, there is a big move in the division recently. The first and second regiments will move to Jayapura after the rest. It is now a weak point of defense, and it is far from Borneo and Sulawesi. Very close, the Dutch can be put under strong pressure through the garrison. I guess what other actions will be taken, but unfortunately these excitement has nothing to do with our three regiments."

  "Camp, will our three regiments stay at Moresby now?"

   "How can it stop?"

   "Why... is there a new task?"

"Well, I went to the regiment headquarters today. The regiment received the task of coordinating the colonization of the Qingshui River Basin. The regiment assigned this task to our second battalion. I will personally take a company and a logistics company to participate in the operation. The company, the fire company and the supplementary company stay at the camp. After you go back, quickly mobilize and prepare more comprehensively. Bring more camp tents and various anti-insect and anti-bite drugs. Two days later, follow the fleet to carry out the mission."

   "Yes, I promise to complete the task." Duan Qirui replied in a salute.

   "Go ahead, what are you doing here with me?" Li Shuanzhu walked to the chair next to him and sat down, took a sip of the herbal tea in a large tea mug, and watched Duan Qirui leave quickly.

"My God, this belly is a lot bigger than before. It seems that I need to exercise more." Li Shuanzhu sat on the chair and felt that the military uniform was a bit supportive. He couldn't help but touch his belly with his hand, and said to himself; "The daughter-in-law hasn't gotten married yet, don't grow up to be a big fat man first, then it will be over."

His current status is the second battalion commander of the third regiment. There are more than a dozen of his subordinates, order soldiers, communication soldiers, hygienists, and security guards. Moreover, the battalion has a small stove alone. The officer eats good and nutritious food, so his body develops rapidly. He looks much stronger when he gets up.

  In the end

  The Queensland National Guard belongs to the army of feudal lords. There is no mention of equality between officers and soldiers. The treatment of officers and soldiers is different, and the treatment of low-level and mid-level officers is different, and class differences can be felt everywhere.

  If you want to stand out, you can only fight with your life.

Just think about it, Shangri-La is the lowest-paid horse-riding infantry division. The monthly salary of ordinary soldiers is 6 shillings and two pence, which is less than 1/3 pounds. If there is no war, it will be a year. It's about four pounds, which is about the same as an ordinary port carrier.

The battle is different. Soldiers are given more rewards for each large-scale battle, ranging from £1 to £5. For example, when attacking the position held by the Dutch in Erdaoliang, each soldier will pay £5 for their lives in advance. After the battle, there are still great rewards for meritorious service, giving money to the field and giving medals. The Lord Earl has never been stingy in these expenses.

  Of course, the rewards of officers are higher.

  This is the prevailing rule in the world today. The British, French, and Germans all did this, and the Manchus did the same.

The remuneration of the Guards Cavalry Division is much higher. The annual salary of ordinary soldiers is about ten pounds, plus the clothing, weapons and horses, and the annual expenditure for maintaining a cavalry is about 45-50 pounds. This is still the situation in non-war time. Down.

About half of the expenses are for the feeding of war horses, that is, no less than 20 pounds per year. This includes a large amount of forage concentrate and salt, black beans, eggs, and horse equipment and other expenses. War horses are like people, and stables are needed for accommodation. , If you are sick, you need to be treated, the horseshoes need to be replaced with horseshoes, and the stallions need to be castrated when they grow up...

  Australia has vast natural pastures, and the cost of feeding horses is only about one-third to one-fourth of Europe's. In addition, the terrain is flat and far away, making it very suitable for the development of cavalry troops.

  In Europe

  Take the French Royal Guard Dragoons of the Napoleonic era in Europe as an example. The cost of feeding a light cavalry horse is more than 85 pounds, and the horses used by heavy cavalry generally exceed 110 pounds.

According to the protagonist Austin, the popular novel "Sense and Emotion" in the 18th century in Europe, the cost of raising horses was expensive at that time, and the cost of raising ordinary horses was between £25 and £40 a year, and fine horses were frequently raised. One hundred pounds.

  But no matter how **** the horse is, as long as you want to use it to pull the cart, the annual feeding cost will not be less than £40, and the horse will not have the energy to work if it does not eat well.

  The cost of raising horses for the noble carriages is generally more than £85. Two horses and a groom cost more than £200 per year.

  In other words, horses are much more expensive than humans, and they cannot be raised by ordinary people.

  Back to topic

  With the income of Li Shuanzhu’s current major battalion commander, it is about £230 a year, which is twice as high as a company officer and he has turned a corner to enter the Intermediate Officers’ Club.

   Horizontally compared with the neighboring forces, this income level is one-third lower than that of the Guards Cavalry Division, and it is much lower than that of officers of the same rank in the Navy. It is incomparable.

  But the army has one advantage, that is, it has extra money and other income. For example, the officers and soldiers of the first regiment and the second regiment of the original Shangri-La Division who invaded Borneo, the income seized was simply a lot of money, and it made a lot of money.

Of course, the bulk belongs to the Borneo occupying army. Except for half of the seized property as military expenses, all the officers and soldiers made a fortune. Even the three regiments staying in Moresby shared some of the leftovers, and only Li Shuanzhu got it. There is an extra income of 350 pounds, which shows that the seizure was generous.

  In the past year, Li Shuanzhu has gone from being a poor man to having a net worth of over 1,000 pounds, realizing the primitive accumulation of wealth.

  Two days later

  Port Moresby

There are seven ships gathered in the port, of which five ships of 3,000 tons carry a large amount of supplies, and two ocean-going fishing boats of 260 tons are accompanying them, ready to go to the estuary of the Qingshui River (formerly Frye River) in the Coral Sea. And along the Qingshui River to look for the planned location of Tianshu Town, establish advance camps and docks for the arrival of immigrants, and further explore inland...

  The pier is crowded and bustling.

The tractors carrying the cargo are loaded with vats of salted fish, bacon, piles of grains and various wasteland reclamation tools. There are long lines waiting to be lifted onto the ship. There are also many people participating in the colonization advance team. Surrounded by family members and relatives, they boarded the ship one after another and waved goodbye to Yiyi.

  I can’t come back for at least six months a year, and mosquitoes are breeding in tropical rain forests. People will be gone when it’s hard to say. No wonder everyone is worried.

  Fortunately, the Qingshui River Basin has been uninhabited for thousands of years and has been in a primitive and barren state. There is no usual human tropical malignant epidemic. As long as you pay attention to health protection, the problem should not be too big.

  All personnel participating in the previous colonization mission must go through bathing and disinfection of their clothes before boarding the ship to minimize the chance of carrying germs, strictly control the occurrence of hot spots and epidemics from the source, and gain more time for colonization and reclamation.

  On the dock

Shangri-La Chief Executive Wu Xuewen is saying goodbye to Li Fushan, the Mayor of Moresby. He will personally lead a team to the Qingshui River Basin to determine the new site and start building Tianshu Town. This important task is left to anyone. He is not at ease, he must Stare yourself.

  "Your Excellency, the colonization of a new area is quite risky. You are also an important task in the two provinces. If you are too late to regret any mistakes, it is better to take a trip instead of you..."

"Brother Fukuyama, you don't have to persuade you anymore. This major plan to develop the Qingshui River is the top priority for the development of our Shangri-La region. It is a big deal. As the general manager, I must be in front of the command and cannot listen to the report from the back. Making decisions, that kind of efficiency is too low."

Wu Xuewen looked at the endless stream of people on the dock, and a sense of entrepreneurial pride rose in his heart. He solemnly said to Li Fushan; Brother's unswerving implementation of the colonization strategy must not let the grand blueprint we planned together fall short, so that we will become sinners in Shangri-La, and we will not be under the eyes of Jiuquan."

"Please rest assured, Chief Executive, Fushan will definitely live up to expectations, and only hope that you will cherish your return as soon as possible. The overall situation of Shangri-La will require you to come back to preside!" Li Fushan said, his brows rose with a deep worry, and he sighed. Said in a tone;

"After our repeated efforts to colonize the Qingshui River plan, Lord Earl allocated 130,000 pounds from Nekuri to support, plus our hard-raising more than 30,000 pounds, it can only last for more than two months at most. By the beginning of next year!"

  Speaking of this topic

  Wu Xuewen's face became dignified, his brow furrowed and the word Sichuan was deeply frowned. The financial difficulties were the biggest obstacle to the colonization plan, and there was almost no solution.

  According to the latest news from Australia;

In order to get the strong support of the British side, Lord Earl plans to present four first-class battleships with a displacement of 10,000 tons at the grand celebration of the 50th anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen’s accession to the throne. The total plan cost exceeds 3.5 million pounds (including design costs and Red Mountain Shipyard). Increase the cost of special facilities).

  In addition to the large-scale expansion of troops and preparations for the Battle of Borneo, the originally loose financial situation has become extremely tight. The director and general manager of Huitong Bank, Mr. Kestner, has jumped off his feet and released harsh words on the board of directors.

  As a result of Shangri-La’s major colonization plan, Lord Earl’s squeeze 130,000 pounds from the inner treasury is already the limit, and the subsequent financial support next year is also dangerous, and the intensity will not be as large as originally imagined.

  Before the end of the year, the loan from Huitong Bank is also completely out of place. In a word, there is no money.

  This has caused major difficulties for the current plan. What can I do if I don’t have the money?

  Really thinking at the beginning

The first phase of the high-standard construction of Moresby Town invested 420,000 pounds. In the future, there will be a large amount of capital investment to build a high-standard permanent concrete wharf with high drainage facilities. Standard streets, stilted buildings with elevated concrete pillars, improved street greening and gas street lights, and construction of high-standard concrete warehouses and other public facilities, all of which are money piled up.

  "Oh...we are asking for money everywhere now. We must understand the difficulties of Lord Earl, and try our best to overcome them by ourselves." Wu Xuewen frowned and said carefully;

  "The colonization plan cannot be delayed for a moment. It must be launched immediately. We will try our best to do more things with the least amount of money.

  Tianshu Town does not need to build a complete sewer network or high-standard streets for the time being. After the mud-wood roads are tamped, the wharves are also simple and simple, temporarily replaced with wooden plank roads. Bridges and other things are also handled in the same way, spending a small amount of money to do big things.

  Residential construction can also be postponed. We just need to bring more tents. The main purpose is to build advance camps for immigrants. With sufficient manpower, we can do more things, like a snowball.

  Brother Fukuyama, please provide logistical support in the rear. This task is far more difficult than what I have to face. It will be hard for you. "

"Where did the chief executive say, this is where Fukuyama's responsibility lies. I am here to make a military order to you. In any case, I will fully supply the material and manpower needs of the colonization team. There is nothing wrong with it. I ran to the Red Fort to the Lord Earl. Kneeling down, you will never miss the material needs of the colonization team. The first immigration ship will be sent to Tianshu Town in October. Please relax."

  "Okay, you and my brothers are of the same heart, and it is profitable to cut money."

  The two big hands of Wu Xuewen and Liu Fushan were tightly clasped together, and a rare smile appeared.

at this time

   There was a noise in the distance from the dock. The two turned their heads and looked over. They saw heavily armed soldiers from the Second Battalion of the Third Regiment, escorting more than 1,600 Dutch prisoners of war.

   "Master, this..."

   "Hehe... I think these Dutch prisoners of war are also idle, so I just stuff them into the colonization team to do coolies, which can also save a lot of money."

   "Uh... alright."

  Li Fushan touched his nose and didn't make a sound. Our chief executive was also driven by money, and even got the idea of ​​a Dutch prisoner of war. This is really no one!

  It is estimated that when the negotiations are over, these Dutch prisoners of war will have half of them left.

It’s not deliberate abuse. You have to know that this is colonizing and reclaiming in the tropics. As a coolie, you are doing the most tiring and dangerous work. Mosquito bites and hard working environment are unavoidable. In addition, if you don’t have good medical conditions, the food is still poor. Maybe you can expect everyone with all beards and tails to be fine, isn't that a fantasy?

  Well, Shangri-La people hate these Dutch white guys. If they die, they will die, and they will not be more precious than anyone's life.

  These prisoners of war came from previous sea wars and land wars, and there were no nobles.

In the **** battle of Erdaoliang, the Dutch noblemen died together with Colonel Smidt von Krauns of the Royal Netherlands Army. German Colonel Heinrich and Lieutenant Colonel Schmeichel, who belonged to mercenary officers, etc. The nobles were all dealt with by the Dutch with knives, and died clean.

  The rest are all Dutch civilians and a few mercenaries. No one pays a large ransom for them. They can only earn a way to survive with their hands. If they can return to the day when peace is negotiated, they may be able to free themselves from suffering and win a new life.

  No way, the weak do not have human rights!

  (End of this chapter)