Chapter 26 People coming from afar
East African Colony, Second Town.
This is the location of the small town of Ruvo in Tanzania in its previous life, and the name of the Little Rhine in its previous life was the Ruvo River.
The Little Rhine runs southwest-northeast in East Africa. It starts from the Ulugulu Mountains, turns eastward at Kissaki and flows northeastward, and flows into the Zanzibar Strait of the Indian Ocean north of Bagamoyo.
The second town is located on the eastern bank of the Little Rhine River. More than 500 newly assigned Chinese immigrants were resettled here. At the same time, more than 50 immigrants who had lived for some time were transferred from the first town to guide them. There are also three Germans responsible for the production and life of the new immigrants, and local security management.
Ernst was not afraid that these Chinese immigrants would have bad intentions. These were selected old farmers who were illiterate and had no sense of resistance.
As we all know, the Chinese have the second highest patience in the world before they are forced to the point where they have no way out. The first is the Indians who are good at non-resistance.
As for the French on the battlefield You can surrender, but you have to lower their treatment. The next day the unscrupulous people in Paris will dare to besiege the government building. (Cold joke)
This is Ernst’s view, but it is definitely true for this era. After all, the lowest Chinese are well versed in the golden rule of "the people do not fight with the officials."
Looking at ancient times, those who took the lead in resisting in Chinese history had read a few books even if they had no education. A typical example is the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which was just suppressed. Its leader Hong Xiuquan himself had participated in the imperial examination. In this era, he is considered a top student.
Going even further, Chen Sheng, the earliest leader of the peasant uprising in Chinese history, could say something like "A sparrow knows the ambition of a swan." Even if he has never read a book, he must have heard some great principles and is knowledgeable. After all, as a village leader, you have a high chance of getting in touch with the lower-level bureaucrats and local dignitaries of the Qin Dynasty.
So when Ernst selected immigrants, his top priority was farmers and even refugees. It was basically impossible for them to have any culture and knowledge. At most, they had only been exposed to some opera and storytelling.
As a Chinese in his previous life, Ernst understood the thoughts of these people best.
No wonder the British like to use Indians in the colonies so much. Obedience is on the one hand, and the ability to act like a fox and pretend to be powerful is also natural, which just cooperates with the British to suppress various colonies.
There will be no problems in the East African colonies. What we should really be careful about are the temporarily captured natives. There are not many of them now and they can't make trouble. We need to be vigilant in the future.
As for the Chinese, their status in the East African colonies is not low, at least in theory. After all, the Germans and Chinese in East Africa are both hired workers of the Hechingen Consortium and have signed contracts, so the two are nominally equal. .
Just like later generations said that everyone is equal, but in the company, do you dare to say such things to your boss? So the actual situation is that the Germans are in the management in the East African colonies, while the Chinese are under the management, similar to a company.
The indigenous people have not been counted among the people of the East African colonies from the beginning. They are currently assets and are assets to be sold.
Affected by the colonial development in East Africa, the Sultanate of Zanzibar even adopted the strategy of small profits but quick turnover, and the prices of indigenous slaves sold to the Arab region were reduced.
With these natives as comparisons, the new Chinese immigrants are more honest and work hard. After all, the natives have proved that the Germans are not good people, and they should always keep their priorities in mind.
In this case, the second town was developed quickly. With the experience of the first town, the second town appeared on the land of East Africa as long as the process was followed.
There is also a new breakthrough this time, which is rice cultivation. This is indica rice introduced from India. Tanzania and India both belong to the tropics, so the East African colonies did not directly try subtropical rice cultivation, and India transported It's easy to come here, and the distance is closer. As long as you negotiate the price with the British businessmen who pass through the port of Dar es Salaam along the way, you can take some with them on their return trip.
The second town is close to the Little Rhine River and has a more secure water source than the first town. Therefore, a large amount of rice is grown in the second town. In the future, the wetlands in the East African colonies will most likely be the same as those in the second town. , select rice. After all, the yield of rice is higher than that of wheat. In the East African colonies, which also need human development, it is reasonable to pay more labor costs and pursue better yields.
Not only that, Ernst also planned to plant higher-yield corn in the East African colonies in the future. In his previous life, Africa was a continent where corn was widely planted.
...
In the second town, the newly arrived immigrants are cultivating newly developed paddy fields. The water from the Little Rhine River is introduced from the river into the ditch through waterwheels, and into the paddy fields on the Leihao ridge.
Li Tiezhu and his fellow farm workers were immersed in digging a new water diversion canal. His thin, dark body wielded the shovel effortlessly. He stepped on the Prussian shovel, and the soft red soil was brought out by the shovel. , raised his hand, turned the shovel over, and the soil fell onto the field ridge on one side.
"Uncle Jiaxiang, I've been here for a few months. Tell us what this Kilmann (German transliteration) person is like? Does his word count?" Li Tiezhu dug a ditch while while asking.
Li Tiezhu was a newcomer to the East African colonies from North China, and he didn’t know much about the Germans in the East African colonies.
Zhang Jiaxiang was digging the soil in front and said: "What are you doing with so much? Wherever you go, you don't have to beg for food. In the Qing Dynasty, you used to work as a tenant farmer for the landlord, but here... ah Feika (German transliteration) What are you afraid of if you don’t just work as a tenant farmer for Mr. Kilman?”
Li Tiezhu said: “Then we have been farming for the landlord for generations in the Qing Dynasty. Aren't you afraid? "
"What are you afraid of? At such a young age, are the Kilman people more terrifying than Mr. Zhou from our village? If there was no way to survive, you would have been able to run to Feika. Farm the land for Mr. Kilman, don’t think about it all day long, if there is nothing, thank God as long as Mr. Kilman stutters." Zhang Jiaxiang said to Li Tiezhu.
"This is also the case. This year, there is no water in the river in my land. Mr. Zhou has gone to the city to live, and the rent he collects cannot be less. There is no food at home, and he is so hungry that he can't live. Then Mr. Kilman came to recruit workers, so I signed up and finally got on the ship at sea," Li Tiezhu recalled.
Then he continued: "That was the first time I had ever seen such a big ship in my life. It was bigger than Mr. Zhou's house. But life on the ship was difficult. In the first few days, the ground was full of vomiting and diarrhea. The little rations distributed at the dock were all used to feed the fish in the sea.”
"It's good to fly here. This is how I came here in the beginning. Now I can eat every meal every day, or three meals. How can I think of such a good life in the Qing Dynasty? I finish work at the end of the month, and I can still get points for doing a good job." Two taels of meat, this day is better than the Chinese New Year!" Zhang Jiayi sighed.
"You do a good job, can you really eat meat? Uncle Jiaxiang, please don't lie to me." Li Tiezhu asked with bright eyes.
"Why should I lie to you? I've been eating for three months. As long as I don't get to the last place, each team can get points."
Li Tiezhu said after hearing this : "Then let's wait and work hard. I haven't tasted meat for several years!"
He worked harder as he spoke. Others were listening to the conversation between the two, and they also had expectations in their hearts. The progress of canal repair has been greatly accelerated.
The Second Town is also becoming more and more impressive in the hands of new immigrants. Even the Germans in charge of management are a little surprised by the diligence of these Chinese. In terms of hard-working spirit, the Chinese are indeed admirable.
(End of this chapter)