Chapter 2529 The vast earth

The north wind blows the white grass in the ground, and snow falls in August. Suddenly, like a spring breeze coming, thousands of pear blossoms bloom.

It will be October of the Gregorian calendar, and the first layer of winter snow has fallen on the land of North Manchuria. In the Vladivostok Port at the top of the Golden Horn Peninsula, an old-fashioned "East Coast Star" train carrying more than 100 tons of supplies slowly started and headed north.

The destination of this train is Shuangchengzi Town, which is also the farthest point that the first railway (i.e., the Manchuria-Mongolia Standard Rail Railway) can extend to at present.

The Manchuria-Mongolia standard railroad has been proposed for almost 20 years. As early as 1679, Chen Ke, who was the captain of the pioneer team, proposed the Jinjiao Railway. The so-called Jinjiao Railway is a railway that runs through the north and south of the entire Jinjiao Peninsula, with a design length of more than 40 kilometers. But just such a short railway, the Nan Railway Company has been delaying the construction of this short railway due to various reasons, because they have huge operating pressures, and the Jiaoyan Railway is not profitable, and the Pingrong Railway consumes a lot of money, and they really have no spare time to build railways on the deserted Manchuria-Mongolia land.

After Lu Xiaofeng took over as the captain of the development team, he brought up the old matter again and asked for the construction of the railway. Nan Railway Company once again declined. However, Lu Xiaofeng was not discouraged. He proposed an amazing plan, namely the Manchuria-Mongolia Standard Grid Railway Plan, enthusiastically invited Nan Railway Company to join the market, and promised that they would not ask about the operation of the railway itself and its affiliated areas and listen to the management of the Nan Railway Company.

Nantec Corporation was very interested at one time. They even sent teams to conduct field surveys and planned the route. However, after drawing the route drawings, they kept putting it on the shelf. Even though Manchu and Mongolia promised to grit their teeth and squeeze out some of the financial funds, they also brought in the Bank of Taiwan and shared the funds with the three parties, but they still failed to guarantee 51% of the equity of Nantec Corporation.

It seems that things are just so bad. Many people say that Manchuria and Mongolia have too few populations and poor economy, which is not suitable for railway construction. Heishui has a total population of 300,000, with a developed economy and advanced technology. He didn't say that he wanted to build a railway. What's the fun of Manchuria and Mongolia? Even many Manchuria and Mongolia officials think so, military operations consume huge resources. Can their financial resources really support another large-scale infrastructure project while launching a war?

In the end, Wei Wendu's appointment changed all this. The leader of the pioneer team, who was a military chief, was very enthusiastic about building the Manchu-Mongolia standard railroad and worked hard to promote it. But at the same time, he was also very practical and proposed that a short section could be built first, namely the first phase of the Manchu-Mongolia standard railroad, from the Vladivostok port terminal to Shuangchengzi County, with a total length of about 120 kilometers. After the first phase is completed, everyone will see the effect. If it is good, discuss the construction of the next phase.

It should be said that Wei Wendu's proposal is still very realistic, and the cooperation and joint establishment of Taiwan Bank is also very supportive. In addition, the finances of Nan Railway Company have been greatly improved and the cash flow is relatively abundant, so no one in the three parties have objected. Finally, the railway construction agreement was signed in 1697 and construction started that year.

Today is October 3, 1704. After several suspensions and delays in the first phase of the Manchurian-Mongolia standard railroad, it was finally opened to traffic half a year ago. From then on, a large number of people and materials could be landed in Vladivostok, and then transported to the hinterland of Manchuria and Mongolia through this railway. The most important thing is to Harbin, the core capital city where a large number of soldiers were stationed.

Yes, the ultimate goal of the Manchuria-Mongolia standard railroad is to communicate with Harbin and Vladivostok. The former is an administrative capital, military center, and an economic center in the mainland with a large population. The latter is a harbor city and a commercial center, which can distribute a large amount of materials. If the logistics costs between these two cities can be reduced, it can greatly improve the economic environment and provide huge driving force for development.

At present, the plan for the second phase of the Manchurian-Mongolia Standard Grid Railway has been proposed, that is, from Shuangchengzi to Suifenhe, the planned length is almost over 120 kilometers, which is equivalent to the first phase, but the cost should not be as much as the first phase, but the construction and procurement funds of more than one million yuan are always required. Not to mention, the money was issued by the three parties and jointly injected into a company called the Manchurian-Mongolia Standard Grid Railway Company in proportion. The company is the owner and operator of the first and second phase standard rail railways.

The first and second phases of railways, totaling more than 240 kilometers, passed through a whole fertile plain. On this black soil that was made up of Xingkai Lake Plain by the East Coast, more and more people have settled in this black soil, fishing and hunting, raising beekeeping in their spare time, pursuing gold, and picking some wild mountain goods. Life is still quite good. With the official opening of the first phase of the Manchurian-Mongolia standard railroad, their remaining agricultural and sideline products, wild mountain goods, leather and wool can be sold further through this transportation trunk line. In short, the market is bigger, and there are more choices, and the income will naturally rise.

As for the imagined section of Suifenhe to Ningguta, the third phase of the Manchurian-Mongolia Standard Grid Railway, the total mileage exceeds 160 kilometers, and it may not be considered in the short term. Unless there is any major change or the funds are suddenly abundant, there will be no possibility of project establishment in the next five years, and I will be able to do some preliminary survey and demonstration work, and there will be no substantial action.

Of course, some people also asked whether it was possible to build a railway directly to Boli City from Shuangchengzi to the east bank of Xingkai Lake through Heicheng County. This railway is also of great value. It mostly uses plains with rich resources and is not far from the mountainous areas. The natives can also come to trade, which is very beneficial to the economic development and ethnic integration of the entire Manchu and Mongolian. However, this proposal was rejected almost immediately. The reason was that the capital of Manchu and Mongolian was not in Boli but in Harbin. At this stage, all the energy must be devoted to the direction of Harbin. This is not only an economic issue, but also a political issue, and there is no negotiation.

Today, the train from Vladivostok transports construction materials, metal tools, food and medicines. After arriving at Shuangchengzi Railway Station, it is transported west by carriages, because the Manchuria and Mongolian pioneer team set up several new settlements in that area and urgently needed the above-mentioned materials. These settlements are: Laoheishan Township (located near Laoheishan Town in later generations), Luozigou Township (located near Luozigou Town in later generations), and Wangqing Township (located near Wangqing County in later generations).

In addition, a fleet had previously landed along the coast of the later Pochet Bay, and placed a total of 3,000 immigrants in three newly established settlements, namely: Chunhua Township (located near Chunhua Town of Later), Hunchun Township (located near Hunchun City of Later), Mokuowei Township (located near Bochet Town of Later), and Pinglu Township (located near Zarubino Port), a total of four settlements, among which Pinglu Township is under the jurisdiction of Vladivostok County.

Hunchun, Chunhua, Mokuowei, Laoheishan, Luozigou and Wangqing, a total of six settlements, with a total population of more than 5,000. In principle, it has been designated as one county, namely Hunchun County. The county is roughly in the narrow and long areas north of the Tumen River, south of Vladivostok and Shuangchengzi. The territory is mostly mountainous, and the plains are mainly coastal, along the river and some isolated mountain valleys. In view of the fact that the Koreans have begun to scattered activities in the area with relatively vague ownership rights south of the Tumen River in recent years, Wei Wendu, the captain of the Manchuria and Mongolia Development Team, was very dissatisfied. In addition to sending people to scold, he also planned to urgently send a group of people across the Tumen River to survey the terrain on the south bank, intending to set up several settlements first and occupy this land, so as not to worry about the North Koreans. This matter should not be delayed, and will be implemented next year (1705).

A small North Korea dares to covet the land on my east coast. I really don’t know who is the one who is in this vast land?

While the coastal areas are being carried out in full swing, and the railway is also a new settlement, at the other end of the railway, a series of construction actions are also being carried out in the area of ​​Harbin Fort, the capital of the Manchuria and Mongolian pioneer team. They mainly focus on consolidation and digestion, that is, thoroughly sorting out the territory originally belonging to the Qing Dynasty that has been built over the years, roughly to compile household registration, relocation, education assimilation, commercial infiltration, military pressure and other means. After several years of rectification, they have been initially digested and their worries have been resolved.

They also set up some new settlements, such as Fuyuan Township (located near Fuyuan County in later generations), Raohe Township (located near Raohe County in later generations), these two towns and Model Forts and Tongjiang Village form a county, namely Tongjiang County. To the north of Heilongjiang, three new counties were also established, namely Zhenwei County, which is under the jurisdiction of Zhenwei Town (Arhalla Town in later generations), Amgong Township (located near the source of the Amgong River); Guining Town, Daren Township (located near the town of New Voskre Senovka in later generations), and Yaquesa Town, Xinrong Township (located near Solovyovsk), Tengda Township (located near Tengda Town in later generations), and Yunxing Township (located near Neriengli Town in later generations).

In the Erguna River Basin, Mohe County, Manguitun Township, Alongshantun Township, and Jinhetun Township were also established. This is the first county in the Hulunbuir area (established by the military-controlled area under the Hulunbuir Advance Detachment), and it is also a symbol of the transformation of its social order in the westernmost territory of Manchuria and Mongolia.

At this point, the Manchu and Mongolian pioneer team had already had eighteen counties, and there were several directly affiliated military forts and towns. While vigorously promoting people's childbirth, speeding up immigration and recruiting natives, and Mongolians allocated households and people, the total population of the jurisdiction has exceeded 800,000. It is the undisputed number one power on the vast land of Manchu and Mongolia and the outside northeast, and no one can directly defeat it. Russians cannot do it! Mongolians cannot do it! Qing people cannot do it!
Chapter completed!