Chapter 198, Gate of the World
Wilderness of Western Australia, the outskirts of Chinatown, the capital of the Chinese League
In a huge square as wide as a modern airport, twelve solid stone gates like triumphal arches stand majestically in a circle.
On the plaques of each stone gate, the name of a certain city in this time and space is engraved in dazzling gold letters.
——This is built using the 22nd century black technology of the Doraemon plane, with sixteen fixed permanent [random doors].
And this square was also named "Gate to the World", a name that lives up to its name.
There is no doubt that with the absolutely convenient transportation conditions here, the capital of the Chinese League will become the real center of the world.
Among the sixteen "Random Gates", nine are currently in use, five of which lead to China's East Asia mainland. The other ends of the gates are connected to Vladivostok, Weihai, Shenyang, Kaohsiung and Sanya, all of which are currently being traveled by travelers. A core base that has been firmly grasped.
As for the remaining four gates that have been activated, they lead to Manchester City (Manhattan Island, New York), the capital of the Chinese American Republic in North America, Port Oriental (north of the mouth of the Rio de la Plata), the capital of the East Coast Republic of South America, and Cape Town, the capital of the Republic of South Africa. , and finally, Sydney on the other side of the Australian continent - it has just been developed in less than half a year. It is still a small village with only a few hundred people, but it will become the capital of the Republic of Australia in the future.
In this way, the square has become the most important transportation hub between the various republics and the link that connects them.
Today is not only the day when the central government of the Chinese League was officially established, but also the time when the "Gateway to the World" square was officially opened.
Therefore, President Wen Desi, who had just delivered his inaugural speech, quietly left the festive open-air banquet venue and came to the "Gate of the World" square in the suburbs to inspect the opening of each fixed and permanent [Random Door] operating conditions.
Fortunately, everything seemed to be going well: the nine permanent [Random Doors] were activated in sequence according to the scheduled time, and the first batch of passengers from each union republic arrived one after another, while curiously looking at the invisible square under their feet and the sky above their heads. The blue sky is thousands of miles away, while they greet each other and chat casually. The first batch of goods imported into the capital were also loaded on electric trucks and transported to warehouses set up on the edge of the square.
——In order to ensure cleanliness and environmental protection, the capital of Hua League theoretically prohibits the use of all fuel vehicles, and only electric vehicles can be used for daily transportation.
Only by building this gateway connecting all parts of the world can travelers truly build a global capital in barren Australia.
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In fact, although Australia's land seems vast, it cannot actually support too many people. Ostensibly due to lack of water and desert. But in fact, even in the water-rich areas of southeastern Australia, the crops that can be grown are very limited due to extremely poor soil
What many people find hard to imagine is that Australia is the continent with the lowest agricultural productivity in the world. Its soil fertility, plant growth rate and productivity are among the worst in the world. Because the land in Australia is so old, all the nutrients have been lost after billions of years of rain erosion.
In nature, there are three main ways to re-fertilize poor soil. The first is volcanic ash generated by volcanic eruptions, which is rich in various nutrients and can fertilize the soil. Java, Japan, Hawaii and other places have benefited from this. However, in Australia, only a few areas in the east experienced volcanic activity more than 100 million years ago. The second is glacial movement, which produces debris that helps fertilize the soil. Nearly half of North America has been affected by glaciations in the past million years, while in Australia, less than one percent of the continent has been affected by glaciations. Third, the slow rise of the earth's crust will also bring new soil, adding fertility to the land. The most classic example of this is the fertile Ganges River in the Indian subcontinent. But over the past 100 million years, the area of Australia's crust that has risen is so small that it's almost negligible.
However, in the absence of scientific research, it is difficult for an outsider to discern the barren nature of this land at a glance. Historically, the first European colonists who came to Australia did not pay attention to this problem at all. Instead, they looked at the endless forests and lush grasslands and were deceived by these illusions into thinking that Australia was a land as fertile as North America. It was only after the first trees were cut down and the grass was eaten by sheep that people discovered that the trees and grass in this area grew very slowly, and the more delicate crops were almost impossible to grow in many places!
——To put it simply, for a forest of the same height and size, if it takes twenty years for a sapling to grow to such a large size in Europe or North America, then it may take fifty or even a hundred years in Australia. !
If it is an animal in nature, it may not matter, but for human farmers who need to harvest regularly, it will be a big problem.
Therefore, despite seemingly having great plains as vast as those in North America and Ukraine, the average yield of modern Australian crops is very low. For example, the famous wheat belt in modern Australia is actually planted on sandy soil. It is basically a huge flower pot. The sand is useless. The nutrients required for crop growth rely entirely on chemical fertilizers. As a result, Australia's agricultural costs are very high. , sometimes almost comparable to a country with a small land and a large population like Japan. Therefore, even though Australia has a vast land and a sparse population, it cannot become a large agricultural country. In the Australian local market, the competitiveness of domestically produced agricultural products is often inferior to agricultural products imported from overseas, even if the latter has to bear international transportation costs. For example, an international fruit company in the 21st century grows oranges in Brazil and then transports concentrated orange juice to Australia, half a world away. The cost is actually cheaper than orange juice produced by Australians themselves. Then, pork imported from Canada is cheaper than locally produced in Australia.
What's even more terrible is that when developing agriculture in Australia, you will also encounter the problem of unstable precipitation. In most places in the world that gave birth to ancient civilizations, regular rainy seasons every year can help agricultural development. Regardless of whether it is Europe, India or East Asia, regardless of whether it is rainy or hot at the same time, farmers can at least follow the seasonal rules to cultivate the land and sow seeds every year, so that the crops can grow and mature under the irrigation of rain.
However, in much of Australia, rainfall depends on El Niño. The rainfall is unpredictable every year, and the changes are even greater every decade. The most terrible thing is that there is no pattern at all. Ten years of drought are often followed by two years of heavy rain!
The first farmers and herdsmen who came to Australia most likely encountered good years when they chose the location of colonial villages and towns. Therefore, they were blinded by the illusion and mistakenly thought they were a blessed land, so they settled down. Work diligently and sow seeds. Who would have known that in this miserable place like Australia, good years are so rare, and often more than half of the years, no crops are harvested! To make matters worse, after the crops are harvested, the farmland undergoes land preparation and weeding, and the bare soil is exposed. If climate change occurs later and the crops planted by farmers cannot grow, the soil will always be exposed, without even impurities. Grass comes to cover and eventually erodes into saline marshes or deserts!
There is no way, compared to the power of nature, we humans are still too small.
In general, there is only a small area in the southwest of Australia, centered around Perth, where precipitation is relatively stable. Although the soil is still very poor, food growing agriculture can still be developed with sufficient chemical fertilizers. And this is why the travelers chose to build the capital of the Chinese League in the Perth area on the banks of the Swan River - at least they can be self-sufficient in food, vegetables and fruits. As for other places... if the Little Ice Age disaster at the end of the explanation brought unprecedented disaster to the Chinese people. So most of Australia is in the Little Ice Age almost every year!
But even the Perth area with the best conditions is actually similar to the Mesopotamia that gave birth to ancient Middle Eastern civilization. Although it was initially suitable for grain growth, as time goes by and irrigated agriculture expands, the land will gradually become salinized, and this process is almost irreversible... The only effective countermeasure is to control the population and When reclaiming acreage, never overwhelm the land.
In fact, most of the land in Australia is not only unsuitable for the development of agriculture, but even the development of animal husbandry is barely suitable. For example, Australia has always been famous for its wool production, but in fact, the grasslands in Australia look lush and lush, but are actually much poorer than the Mongolian Plateau. After being eaten up by sheep, grass no longer grows and it is directly degraded. It has become a desert. In order to avoid land desertification, even pastures in Australia must be irrigated and fertilized!
As a result, after entering the 21st century, Australia's sheep farming industry has been in a state of loss, relying solely on government subsidies to barely survive. However, the average income of herdsmen is still far below the national minimum wage, and most of them are heavily in debt and have to do odd jobs to maintain the most basic living expenses.
Therefore, although its area is similar to that of China and the United States, modern Australia is home to only 24 million people and is actually overwhelmed. In terms of food alone, it is about to change from an exporter to an importer. The government relies entirely on the high profits from exporting minerals to maintain fiscal balance. In fact, it is basically a large Saudi Arabia - except that Saudi Arabia exports oil, while Australia exports coal and iron ore.
According to the calculations of relevant experts, Australia can only support a maximum population of eight million people to ensure that the ecology is not continued to be destroyed. It is already seriously overpopulated - this number is even less than the population of the United Kingdom. many!
Obviously, it is impossible to build a big country with global influence with such a small population.
In short, although Australia, a land isolated in the southern hemisphere, does have the advantages of security and peace, Australia's own resources alone are far from enough to support any ambitions and hegemony. If the time travelers want to dominate the world from Australia, they must find ways to increase the value of this land...
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"...It seems that everything is going well. In the future, this place will become a real world transportation hub, and the status of the capital will never be shaken again."
Standing in the center of the square on the concrete floor exposed by the scorching sun, Chairman Wen Desi wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a relieved smile.
"...Yes, after completion here, our army will become the real world police and can achieve global mobility."
Marshal Huang Shi, who had just officially assumed the post of Minister of Defense of the Chinese League, also nodded in agreement and said, "...the Nanming *** in Shanghai asked for help. Do you really not intend to help them for the sake of your compatriots? Could it be that you don't want to help them anymore for the sake of your compatriots?" Just watch them being slowly devoured by the Qing Tatars?”
"...Do I care if they die?! A bunch of trash that can't even cover the wall with mud. It can't even serve as a buffer zone. It's a pity that so many arms were sold at low prices before! Now it's all in vain. ! What's the use of such pig teammates? It's better to die early! ”
At the mention of Emperor Yonghe's request for help in Shanghai, Chairman Wen Desi became very angry, "...Comrade Huang Shi, I wonder if you have seen the faces of those people. They have all come to us to beg for food, yet they are still so arrogant just by opening their mouths! The great righteousness accuses us of a bunch of charges as soon as it opens its mouth, and then asks us to "serve the imperial court and fulfill the righteousness of a pure vassal", as if it is natural to give money, food, and troops to help in the war, otherwise it will be self-isolation from the people - where is this? Are you here to ask for help? Are you trying to ride on our head?”
Having said this, he couldn't help but sigh melancholy, "...No matter who it is, they can't save a group of people who are deliberately seeking death. On the contrary, they may drag themselves into the water! The ancestor of the Legalists, Han Feizi, is in his There is this sentence in "The Death March" written by Quotes: Those who are small but do not feel inferior, those who are weak but do not fear the strong, those who are rude and insult their big neighbors, those who are greedy and ignorant of friends, will die. The same applies to the gang of granite-headed guys in Shanghai ***. , it’s really appropriate!”
Although Huang Shi was still a little unhappy about this, he had to admit that the Jin gentry in Jiangnan in the late Ming Dynasty was indeed basically hopeless. Even the current wars and wars have not woken them up, let alone allowed them to Reach the level of "opening your eyes to see the world".
In fact, not only the Donglin remnants of the Shanghai Communist Party, but also the entire Jiangnan Shilin in the late Ming Dynasty, the travelers did not think highly of it.
In the past two years, in the Chinese League's Zhejiang-occupied area, the travelers have made many attempts to carry out capitalist transformation of the Jiangnan gentry under their rule, guiding them to open labor-intensive factories and switch from sitting and eating rent to The landlord's old fortune turned into a capitalist who knew how to make money. However, the results were very limited - only a small number of "enlightened gentry" were willing to follow arrangements and suggestions. Most of the remaining gentry have granite heads and are not willing to take the trouble to run a factory or do business. They are only willing to sit quietly at home, collect land rent, and enjoy the ready-made benefits.
The only thing they care about is when the "Australian Song Dynasty Court" will hold the imperial examination, so that they, the "Confucian scholars", can rise to the top and become high-ranking officials, and then use the power in their hands to engage in corruption and gain benefits - but in the end they are rejected by the Australians. I was angered by the lack of preferential treatment for the gentry in the imperial examination...
In the same way, the time-travelers were also so angry and furious at the stubborn attitude of these guys: Not to mention opening their eyes to see the world, this group of people not only pretended to be ostriches with their eyes closed, but also talked to anyone. The guy who wants to help them open their eyes desperately!
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"... Comrade Huang Shi, I know that you can't stand the turmoil and division in China today. You want to unify China as soon as possible, end this dark and painful troubled world, and leave yourself a famous name forever! This idea is certainly not wrong, but you also You have to act according to your ability and understand that haste makes waste! ”
Chairman Wen Desi took a puff of his cigar and said earnestly, "...Currently, we have liberated land in six to seven provinces in China (Liaoning, Taiwan, Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and Zhejiang). There are tens of millions of people who need our enlightenment and guidance, or organizing them to emigrate Outside the People's Republic of China, we still need to transform the vast rural areas. The decadent and backward feudal production relations are still entangled in our occupied areas. Countless old landlords are still subtly supporting the bandits and gangsters in their vain plans. Overthrow our rule!
In the vast areas of South America, North America, Southeast Asia and Australia, our colonization has just begun. There are infinite vast virgin lands waiting for us to cultivate. Various rich resources are still sleeping in the forest, and what occupies them is just a group of uncivilized monkeys. We only need to pay a small price to eliminate them, seize those fertile lands, and create the foundation of our nation for eternity. This is the current focus of our work!
If we are too involved in the quagmire of the Central Plains war when our foundation is not solid enough, the result will only gradually consume our actually very limited strength - don't forget that the United States and the Soviet Union were slowly drained of blood in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lesson! ”
"...So why was the proposal to send troops to Japan to assist the Maori family rejected?" Huang Shi hesitated for a moment and then asked.
"...Sending a large army to attack Japan, what benefits can it bring to us? Is it just for the medals of your soldiers?" Wen Desi asked, "...To put it bluntly, Japan today is just a few barren land, full of It’s just a small island with earthquakes and typhoons! There is indeed gold and silver there, but we can completely exchange the gold and silver on the island through arms trade! If we want to recruit Japanese ronin as cannon fodder, we can do the same now
Besides, the current Maori Christian regime, in order to overthrow the Tokugawa family, established its own government. Although it has a good relationship with us, it behaves quite deferentially. But after they unify the country and restore peace, something will probably happen! ”
Having said this, Wen Desi paused again, reached out to pick up the cigar, and took a long puff before speaking again and changing the topic, "...By the way, tomorrow I will take people to visit the cigar in the desert. The ruins of Song City, offering a stick of incense to the ‘ancestors of the Australian Song Empire’, are you interested in coming together?”
"...No need, those artificial and fake monuments are really not worth mentioning. When the Ministry of National Defense was first established, there was a lot of work in all aspects. I also had to prepare to reorganize and award the armed forces of each union republic. ! ”
Huangshi Defense Minister shook his head indifferently, put on his military cap, turned around, rode on a battery car, and sped away.
——What Huang Shi didn’t know at this time was that because of his flat refusal this time, he would miss out on such a far-reaching event...
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※PS: After careful consideration for a long time, it is difficult to grasp the emotional line because there are too many outstanding characters in "Sword Art Online". More importantly, there are too many people who have written "Sword Art Online", so in order to ensure freshness, the next volume will still write the story of "OVERLORD King of the Undead".