Chapter 3609
Entering the autumn of 1658, with the defeat of Spain in Southeast Asia, this round of war led by the Luzon Region came to an end.
However, it was not easy for the Luzon Region to win this battle. If we count from the arrival of the Luzon Fleet in the New World in May, the battle with the Spanish lasted for about four months, far exceeding the time that the Manila authorities had A sixty-day battle plan drawn up before the war began.
During the war, if reinforcements had not been brought in from other places in time and two fresh forces from Fujian and Taiwan entered the battlefield, the war might have lasted longer.
The Luzon Region's direct losses during the war were not too great. Most of the destroyed ships were cargo ships performing transportation tasks, and the number of casualties was also controlled to three digits. Almost the entire fighting process was carried out in areas controlled by Spain, and the Luzon region itself was basically not affected by the war.
However, the huge expenditures of this war almost emptied the Luzon Region's treasury.
The vast combat zone and the extremely long supply lines forced the Luzon Region to mobilize more than two-thirds of its military forces and nearly half of its ocean-going cargo ships. When requesting that Fujian and Taiwan send troops to assist in the war, the Luzon Region even had to mortgage chromite ore in Palawan Island and borrow a sum of funds from Haihan Bank to pay for related expenses.
After the war, the Luzon Region will need to invest a lot of resources to complete the preliminary construction of the New World colonies.
The Manila authorities have high hopes for mineral development in the New World, but such a large initial investment has far exceeded that of its competitor, the Star Island Region. However, the construction progress has lagged far behind due to the impact of the war.
As far as the project of developing the New World is concerned, the competition between the two regions of Sing Tao and Luzon has actually decided the winner.
Of course, Luzon will not give up on this project because of this. In the long run, the profits from mineral mining in the New World will definitely cover the initial investment, and it is only a matter of time before profits are made.
The Bangui Battalion commanded by Xiao Zhengyang did not return to its original place immediately after the war. Instead, it was arranged by the Combat Command to be temporarily stationed in Beimen Port.
The reason for this arrangement is actually very simple. Rather than transferring another unit from Luzon to station at Beimen Port, it is better to let the Bangui Battalion take charge of this task nearby, allowing the troops to rest and recuperate while also maintaining local security. , saving time and trouble.
Returning to Beimen Port again, Zheng Agui is already very familiar with the environment here. But the most significant change that caught his attention was that the Beimen Port Prisoner of War Camp had a large increase in the number of prisoners. It seemed that many people had been brought here recently.
After asking the civil affairs officer, I learned that Manila had sent all the civilians captured in this war to Beimen Port. The purpose was of course to allow these prisoners to make up for the lack of local labor force.
However, this has also brought the local population structure of Beimen Port into a very strange state, that is, the number of prisoners of war detained has exceeded the local normal immigrant population. It is no wonder that the combat command will transfer Banji Camp to Beimen Port Stationed.
Zheng Agui didn't know the plans of the higher-ups, but from his perspective, Beimen Port was indeed a good place to exile prisoners. It was surrounded by the sea and wilderness. Even if you escaped from the prisoner of war camp, it would be difficult to survive. The only way to survive was to accept the sea. Han management.
However, the mining department has not yet completed preliminary exploration of mineral deposits in surrounding areas, so these captives will not be granted miner status for the time being. One of the daily tasks of Bangui Camp is to take them to the wilderness every day to cultivate farmland or cut down nearby forests to obtain wood. In mid-September, the commendation order from the Ministry of National Defense arrived in Manila. Zheng Agui was awarded second-class merit for his achievements in Sumba Island, and was promoted as he wished, from company commander to deputy battalion commander of Bangui Battalion. After completing the refresher training, the military rank will be upgraded accordingly, from the current captain to major.
This is actually not a surprise to Zheng Agui, it is a matter of course. However, after reaching the battalion level, if you want to move up, it is not a goal that can be achieved just by accumulating military merit.
Zheng Agui was born as a civilian and had little family background, and his connections in the military were relatively limited. However, Xiao Zhengyang has always admired him, and this is his only high-level connection in the military. If nothing unexpected happens, in another ten or eight years, the military command of the Luzon region will probably be handed over to Xiao Liang.
But at this time, Xiao Zhengyang had returned to Manila to report on his duties. Zheng Agui had no chance even if he wanted to get close. He could only settle down and handle the tasks at Beimen Port properly, such as supervising the reclamation of wasteland by prisoners of war.
Although the terrain near Beimen Port is relatively flat, the soil quality and climate are not suitable for agricultural farming. In addition, the local labor force is mainly Spanish captives. It is impossible to expect these people to learn Chinese agriculture in a short time. Farming methods.
Food crops such as rice that require careful cultivation cannot be cultivated by prisoners of war. They can only be operated by the Han immigrants who have moved in. Currently, only crops that are easy to grow and easy to survive are arranged for cultivation in prisoner-of-war camps, such as potatoes and corn.
Potatoes can be harvested three times a year, and corn can be harvested twice, without requiring careful care. The most important thing is that the Spaniards are no strangers to these two crops native to the Americas. They have begun planting them on a large scale more than a hundred years ago, so they are familiar with them.
Of course, the potatoes and corn they planted here were special varieties cultivated and improved by Haihan, and their yield and quality were much better than the original seedlings obtained by the Spaniards in America.
As long as the planting area reaches a certain scale and no natural disasters occur during the period, the most basic local food supply needs can be met in one year at most.
As for the planting of other cash crops, the priority is currently ranked behind food crops. Only after the food problem is solved will there be room to consider the possibility of generating agricultural income.
The supervision tasks that Bangui Camp is responsible for are actually not much different from taking a vacation.
Every morning, the completed team of prisoners was taken to the designated fields, distributed farm tools and seedlings, and then supervised their work. During this period, as long as the farming operations are proceeding normally, no intervention is required.
Wait until sunset, then assemble the team, turn over the farm tools, count the number of people, and lead the team back to the camp.
According to the standards set by Manila, these prisoners can be released based on their labor performance after working locally for five years. This time is neither short nor long. For most prisoners, they have the opportunity to wait until the day of release, so there is no need to struggle.
Some people even think that life here is better than the days in colonial settlements without having to worry about food supply and safety issues.