Chapter 2417

Among the many overseas colonies under Haihan's rule, Miaoli can be said to be a very inconspicuous place. Although Haihan has been stationed in this place for five years, the development progress here lags far behind other places that Haihan subsequently developed.

Colony. Even some Haihan citizens on the island of Taiwan do not know that Miaoli is also under the control and control of Haihan.

If it weren't for the fact that Haihan had invested a lot of resources here, it would be hard for Liu Shanxia to believe that the simple pier in front of him was the final stop of his trip. The wooden trestle and the few sparse warehouses on the shore, it would have been difficult to believe in any case.

It's not like the supporting infrastructure facilities of a major industrial town.

Due to official control, news about Miaoli is rarely seen in newspapers in Haihan. Therefore, most of the people Liu Shanxia brought here did not know what kind of place this place was. Only

Based on the dock facilities here, it is difficult for them to imagine that there is an industrial zone hidden in the inland area dozens of miles away.

"Sir, there seems to be a group of Haihan troops on the dock. Is this place not peaceful?" A sharp-eyed subordinate had already seen the situation on the dock in the distance and reminded Liu Shanxia to be careful.

Liu Shanxia responded: "It was a bit uneven in the past few years, but it's fine now. This is probably just a necessary security measure, so don't be nervous."

When Haihan entered this area in 1634, he encountered armed resistance from local indigenous tribes. For a time, Haihan was unable to build an oil production area at the planned location. Later, Haihan's army was dispatched to eliminate unfriendly people within a few dozen miles.

All the indigenous tribes were wiped out, and all the captives were sent to work as coolies in the Jinguashi mining area near Jilong Port. Only then did the security situation in the Miaoli area gradually improve.

However, in order to ensure the safety of the inland oil production areas, troops have been deployed in the Miaoli area for a long time. When Liu Shanxia and his party stayed in Hong Kong, they contacted Miaoli through the radio and informed them of the itinerary. The local garrison troops were arranged in advance to send people to the dock.

It is normal to wait while waiting. After all, Liu Shanxia's status fully deserves this special treatment.

After the official ship docked and set up the gangplank, an officer took the initiative to board the ship to see Liu Shanxia. This Army second lieutenant named Gao Cong had already brought a platoon here yesterday to wait for Liu Shanxia and his party, and his mission was

Escort these people to the inland. Liu Shanxia and others need to disembark first, then transfer to a local transportation boat at the dock and then go to the oil production area in the upper reaches of Houlong River.

Gao Cong explained to Liu Shanxia that this was an arrangement out of helplessness. The official ship Liu Shanxia and his party were traveling on had a large draft, and now Houlong River is in the dry season. Sea-going ships cannot go up the river at all, so they can only

Transfer to a boat with a shallower draft to go upstream.

Liu Shanxia expressed his understanding of this and ordered his men to move the luggage and various engineering measuring instruments they brought to several transportation boats prepared by Gao Cong.

Taking advantage of the time of carrying items, Liu Shanxia went to take a look at the three traffic boats docked at the pier. What surprised him slightly was that although these three boats were not large in size, they were all equipped with small marine steam engines as propulsion power.

The coal-fired boiler was placed on the deck at the rear of the ship without any cover. There was a large pile of coal next to the boiler, which seemed to weigh several hundred kilograms.

"Is coal produced locally? Or is it transported from other places?" Liu Shanxia asked casually.

Gao Cong, who was following him, immediately responded: "Sir, we have discovered coal veins here, but because we are located in deep mountains and old forests, transportation is very inconvenient, so we have not organized mining so far. The coal we are currently using,

They are all mined from the Jinguashi mining area near Jilong Port and then shipped to the local area."

Liu Shanxia nodded and said: "I didn't expect that Jinguashi, in addition to gold mines, also produces coal. Jilong Port is not far from here, so the cost should not be too high."

Gao Cong responded: "Yes, Jilong Port is about three hundred miles away from here. When the sea conditions are ideal, it can arrive in one day. Under normal circumstances, a batch of coal will be shipped every ten days or so, which is enough to meet local needs.

.”

Liu Shanxia pointed to the traffic boat channel: "When were these boats put into use locally?"

Gao Cong said: "Beizhong was transferred here just last year, and this type of steam transportation boat was already used at that time. I heard that this type of transportation boat was used to replace the previous model six months before Beizhong was transferred.

The speed of tracing the river upstream is more than twice as fast as before."

Liu Shanxia asked curiously: "So, are you doing the maintenance of these steam engines yourself?"

Gao Cong shook his head and said: "We only learned daily operations and simple maintenance. The engineers in the oil production area were responsible for the repair work. It's embarrassing to say that I only had a humble job after being transferred to Miaoli.

When it comes to steam engines, they can only perform basic operations now."

Liu Shanxia suddenly realized that there were many kinds of machinery and equipment in the oil production area. Naturally, there would be a group of specially trained technicians stationed there. They would definitely be more reliable than the soldiers who were transferred here like Gao Cong and had just started to come into contact with steam machinery. Besides, these marine steam engines

It's expensive to build, and you probably wouldn't dare to hand it over to soldiers for training, so if something goes wrong, you'll have to rely on dedicated personnel to repair it.

Among the overseas colonies Liu Shanxia has visited, there are not many places equipped with such steam-powered transportation boats, but this is in sharp contrast with the low-level local infrastructure. Liu Shanxia turned around and looked at the nearby area.

There are not many houses within the visible range, and there are no decent loading and unloading facilities on the dock. It is difficult to tell whether this is a deliberate disguise, or whether there is not enough money invested in improving the infrastructure.

The official ship has complete facilities and a spreader specially used for loading and unloading cargo, so it did not take too long to transfer the luggage of Liu Shanxia and his party ashore, but the process of moving it to the traffic boat took more time. Even though Gao Cong's men were present throughout the process

The soldiers helped, and it finally took more than an hour to complete the moving of all the items.

After completing this mission, this official ship will leave here to continue its next mission. Liu Shanxia and others need to complete their mission in Miaoli first, and then the Ministry of Shipping will coordinate and arrange a ship to take them back.

The steam engine on the traffic boat has been preheated for a long time, and when everything is loaded, it can be set off immediately. Accompanied by Gao Cong, Liu Shanxia boarded one of the traffic boats and found that there was a card specially prepared for him on the deck.

Although the wicker chair is in simple condition, it can be regarded as a special treatment provided to him.

After counting the number of people, Gao Cong gave the order to set off. The sailor operating the steam engine blew the whistle, pulled down the valve to drive the propeller, and waves of water immediately rose from the stern of the ship. Amidst the roar of the steam engine, three traffic boats filed away from the pier.

, slowly travel eastwards up the river.

The operating principle of the steam engine installed on the traffic boat is actually roughly the same as that of the steam locomotive of the train, except that the wheel at the end of the drive acts as a propeller. Of course, the sailing speed of the ship is far from comparable to that of a train running on the rails, Liu Shanxia estimated

This speed is only about five or six knots. Considering that it is going upstream and carrying people and cargo, this speed is acceptable.

Liu Shanxia raised his wrist, looked at his watch, and asked Gao Cong, "Can we arrive at noon?"

Gao Cong nodded and said: "It will take about more than two hours on the road. We will definitely arrive before noon."

"That's okay." Liu Shanxia nodded slightly in approval. He had been wandering on the sea for many days from Sanya to Miaoli. When he stepped onto the dock just now, his feet felt like he was stepping on cotton. He really didn't want to stay on the ship any longer.

In fact, if there had been an option to take a land route at the dock just now, such as taking a carriage to the oil production area, then he would definitely not have boarded the ship.

But it was obvious that the local land transportation situation was not ideal, and this was his main mission here. With nothing to do on the way, Liu Shanxia asked Gao Cong about the current local transportation and freight conditions.

Ninety percent of Haihan's population in Miaoli is concentrated in the inland oil production areas, so the existing infrastructure projects are also centered on the oil production areas. The current production capacity of the oil production areas is actually very limited, so the relevant departments have not been transporting

Too many resources have been invested in the area. It was not until the executive committee decided to increase the development of this area that transportation-related infrastructure projects were actually included in the plan.

There is actually a land passage from the oil production area to the coast. However, due to the high concentration of the local population and the semi-closed control, people cannot enter and exit the oil production area at will. Therefore, the transportation function of the land passage is very limited, and there are free waterways.

Naturally, the local management committee is not willing to spend too much money to maintain the road. Over time, the land road becomes difficult for even carriages to travel, and transportation in and out of the oil production area increasingly relies on waterways.

As for the freight situation, Gao Cong said that the oil production area only transports goods twice a month to the dock at the mouth of Houlongxi. Generally, two to three traffic boats can complete a single transportation task. In fact, the local external demand for materials is not large.

, the people’s daily needs of grain and other food can basically be self-sufficient locally, and there is even a surplus in good years. Most of the daily necessities shipped from the outside are some daily necessities produced in Hainan Island, and the amount of transportation is not certain.

, but the current local transport capacity is sufficient to cope with it.

When Liu Shanxia heard this, he roughly understood why local transportation-related infrastructure projects had been stagnant. This was because the executive committee deliberately controlled the immigration development process here and did not move a large number of people here; secondly, the local transportation demand was real

Limited, only one waterway can suffice, so there is no motivation to carry out large-scale construction and obtain better transportation conditions by building roads and ports.

However, now that the Executive Committee has decided to move a large number of immigrants here, Liu Shanxia knows that as the population increases, the demand for transportation will naturally increase. Building land transportation lines is definitely imperative. As for whether to take this step

Liu Shanxia feels that it is debatable to build the railway when it is in place. If the local demand for external freight does not reach a certain scale, then building a railway system will only cause a waste of transportation capacity.

And as far as he knows, there is no local iron ore for mining in Taiwan, so the rails needed to lay the railway need to be made in Hainan Island and then transported by sea. The running length of this railway will be at least more than 40 years.

miles, which is nearly twice the length of the railway currently in operation in Sanya. Calculating the construction cost is quite scary.

Of course, whether the actual situation is what he imagined would have to be determined after contacting the local management committee. However, in Liu Shanxia's mind, the possibility of building a railway has been lowered by one level.

The men who followed Liu Shanxia on this mission were basically the first time they came to Taiwan Island. They were quite curious about the environment here. Some people even compared the scenery on both sides of Houlong River with the Tiandu River Basin.

.

The difference between the two places is obvious. There are almost no human traces along the Houlong River. If it weren't for the constant rumbling sounds of the steam engines on these traffic boats, the view would be a picture of nature untouched by human beings.

"There shouldn't be any indigenous people around here, right?" Although he was protected by the garrison and his own escorts, Liu Shanxia still wanted to confirm whether his situation was safe.

Gao Cong responded respectfully: "Don't worry, sir, the tribes that were against us have been wiped out long ago. Now there are only a few tribes that have surrendered to our country and are still living nearby. These remaining indigenous people are docile, and they have not won the power of our country."

There are few benefits, so they will no longer oppose us, let alone have the idea of ​​attacking us."

Liu Shanxia said: "In the future, a large number of Han immigrants will move into the local area. Once the population increases, they will probably have conflicts with these indigenous people. By then, the security situation may not be as ideal as it is now."

Gao Cong didn't know the senior management's plan for Miaoli, so he had no choice but to agree first, but he was wondering why the superiors suddenly thought of developing this place.

Of course, it is a good thing to develop Miaoli. Gao Cong knows that there are at least tens of thousands of acres of land that can be cultivated on the alluvial plain beside Houlong River. The soil is fertile and it is ownerless land. It is perfect for building immigrant villages and towns.

.If the superiors want to move immigrants here, they can easily accommodate 10,000 or 20,000 people. The garrison will definitely expand its establishment by then, and Gao Cong will naturally get the opportunity to be promoted.

Liu Shanxia and Gao Cong chatted without saying a word, but they did not stop working. A three-foot-square local map was spread out on the deck in front of him. Liu Shanxia added some words on the map while observing the surrounding terrain.

Comment and correct any discrepancies.

This map he brought from Sanya was a military map drawn by the Haihan Army after they entered the area. However, as a construction worker who came to survey the terrain, this map was not completely suitable, so Liu Shanxia still had to come here in person.

, only by confirming the construction conditions here can the next project operations be organized.
Chapter completed!