Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 311 "Railways"

On October 20, 1635, the morning light pierced through the thin mist and spilled onto the fields covered with autumn dew.

In the open fields of Heng'an Village (now Cordoba Bay Town) in Guangfeng County, two young surveyors dressed in coarse hemp clothing were driving wooden stakes one by one along the previously planned route, holding wooden measuring rods and hemp rope rulers.

"One foot to the left... oh, thirty-five centimeters to the left! This slope is a bit steep; if the carriage is carrying too much cargo, it will probably struggle a lot!" A craftsman with a short beard shouted instructions, his brass compass gleaming in the sunlight.

Upon hearing this, the surveyor immediately took out a measuring tape to measure the distance, then moved the marker post a little to the left before looking up at the road construction worker.

The craftsman stood in front of a marker, squinting his left eye as he held a compass and looked ahead.

"Move it a few more centimeters!"

The surveyor moved it a few centimeters as instructed.

"Okay, all done! Let's drive the piles!" The road builder put away his compass, waved his arm, and signaled the surveyor to mark the points.

Behind them, countless landmarks have been erected, stretching all the way north.

This is a marathon railway that is about to be built, extending the previously constructed Shixing-Guangfeng section northward to Longan Fort (now Sydney), with a total length of more than 30 kilometers.

Once this Malay railway is operational, freight wagons traveling from Sihanoukville to Long An Fort will only need four to five hours to reach their destination.

Although this speed is only 20%-30% faster than horse-drawn carriages on dirt roads, the huge investment seems somewhat uneconomical.

However, the Mara Orbit has several core advantages that cannot be ignored.

First, transporting goods and people via the Mara Railway eliminates the need to consider inclement weather, allowing for unimpeded travel even in muddy, rainy, and snowy weather (except for blizzards).

Secondly, the cargo capacity of horse-drawn carriages will increase by 2-3 times compared to the previous operation on dirt roads, greatly increasing transportation efficiency.

Of course, for the time travelers, building a horse-drawn track also had the consideration of preparing for future upgrades to a steam locomotive track.

The steam engine project has been going on for five or six years, and so far, all that has been done is a few experimental water pumps.

Moreover, these machines cannot be called power machines; they are basically water pumps that cannot convert "firepower" into mechanical force to drive everything, nor can they drive other working machines to operate, thus opening the door to large-scale industrial production.

Worse still, due to substandard raw materials and design flaws, the thermal efficiency of these pumps is still very low and requires further improvement.

Therefore, if Xinhua wants to enter the steam age, it will probably have to continue its research and development for several more years. Once other related materials and processes meet the requirements, it may be able to create a practical steam engine.

As is well known, the secret of modern industry lies in technological innovation, but new technologies often bring about "creative destruction," which can cause many traditional workers to lose their jobs in the short term, resulting in unemployment and social instability, and may even threaten royal power to some extent.

Throughout Chinese dynasties, the ruling class's conservative attitude towards certain technological advancements, seemingly out of stagnation, actually stemmed from deep-seated anxieties. This was similar to the anti-machine movement that swept through Britain during the Industrial Revolution.

"...With the population growing daily, everything relies on manpower, yet there are still many idlers who do nothing and live off others. If we further encourage them to be lazy with frivolous and ingenious things, how can we support these hundreds of thousands of vagrants and lazy women?"

However, this problem does not exist at Xinhua.

At that time, Xinhua was a fertile wasteland in dire need of cultivation, and the biggest shortcoming hindering its development and growth was the problem of insufficient population.

The vast land yearns for more farmers to cultivate it, the abundant resources look forward to the development of countless immigrants, and the assembly line factories also need a massive number of workers to fill them.

Therefore, given the shortage of manpower, the government spared no effort in promoting any "ingenious" or "labor-saving" items that could save labor.

In Xinhua's development blueprint, innovation and development are the only way to the future.

Well, even if a modern, electrified device is developed, there's no need to worry too much about an increase in "idle people living off others."

On the contrary, this will only be like rays of light, illuminating Xinhua's long road ahead and accelerating this emerging land's great journey towards prosperity.

Previously, due to insufficient steel production, the horse-drawn rails on the Shixing-Guangfeng section were all made of hardwood, which had high frictional resistance. Moreover, under long-term pressure and friction, the rails would wear out excessively and even break. Now, Xinhua Steel's production has increased significantly compared to a few years ago, with an annual output of nearly 600 tons. In addition to providing sufficient raw materials for many manufacturing industries, there is still a considerable surplus available for other uses, injecting new momentum into infrastructure construction.

Therefore, the Xinhua government adopted the method of cladding timber with iron for the entire horse-drawn track, making it the world's first "railway".

It is important to know that during this period, although some mining tracks were built in countries and regions such as England and Sweden, they were almost entirely made of wood, with only key parts reinforced with iron nails or sheet metal.

Moreover, iron has always been the most important strategic material for European countries, mainly used for military production to meet the ever-expanding needs of war. How could it be "wasted" like this by the Xinhua people by being laid on the ground?

As noon approached, track construction gradually came to a halt. The surveyors packed up their measuring tools and tape measures, and the conscripted laborers, dragging their pickaxes and crowbars, walked wearily toward their lunch spot.

The laborers' meals were quite plentiful, consisting of dried fish, potatoes, and cornbread, along with several buckets of corn porridge, a mix of meat and vegetables, and both dry and liquid foods.

The new immigrants ate with great relish, first stuffing the dried fish into their stomachs in a few bites, then grabbing cornbread and swallowing it in large mouthfuls, afraid that they would miss out if they were too slow.

Despite the cooks constantly shouting things like "all you can eat" and "more food if you're still hungry," the new immigrants, who had been starving in the Ming Dynasty, still ate voraciously, stuffing food into their mouths.

During this period, there was no large-scale famine in the south of the Ming Dynasty, but in the north, disasters struck everywhere, leaving countless people starving and making it common for people to go hungry.

These refugees from Liaodong and Shandong, suffering from both natural disasters and war, lived a miserable life of constant hunger.

The deepest hope in everyone's heart is to be able to eat a full meal before they die, so that they don't become a pitiful starving ghost in the underworld.

When the new Chinese stood in front of them, they simply shouted, "Come to Xinzhou, there will be food to eat."

Everyone mustered their last bit of strength and swarmed toward the ship carrying the new Chinese.

Yes, after years of immigration efforts, the new Chinese community has established a prominent reputation in the northern region, especially in the Liaodong Peninsula area.

Follow Xinhua, and you'll have enough to eat!
When they finally arrived at the New Continent, they were surprised to find that it brought them an even bigger surprise.

The new Chinese not only ensured that they had enough to eat at every meal, but also provided them with meat every few days.

Although the meat they eat is mostly seafood such as salmon and big fish (whale), in the eyes of these refugees struggling on the edge of life and death, it is still meat, a delicacy they never dared to dream of before!
At first, I thought that the fish was just a special treat to help them recover from their long voyage and weakened bodies. After a few meals, all they had to eat was corn porridge and potato chunks.

But who would have thought that this fish would be a "regular" on the dining table, available almost every day, and always chopped into large chunks, so that everyone could get a full portion.

Even if there's no salmon on some days, they can still enjoy some delicious fish soup to satisfy their cravings.

According to the older immigrants, every year from the beginning of June until the early winter months of November, tens of thousands of salmon swim back from the sea to the rivers on land.

The scene was truly spectacular, with countless salmon darting through the stream. People didn't even need nets; they could simply reach out and scoop one up with their hands.

Those greedy brown bears in the forest don't even need to lift a finger to catch them. They can just sit leisurely on the river fork, and countless salmon will leap into their mouths as if offering themselves as a sacrifice.

Moreover, these brown bears become picky eaters during the salmon migration season, only consuming the fattest belly part of the salmon and discarding the rest, which is quite wasteful.

Therefore, getting fish on Qiming Island is incredibly easy.

Even in inland villages far from the coast, a five- or six-pound salmon can be bought for just a few cents, allowing the whole family to enjoy a delicious meal.

Hearing these words, the new immigrants felt both excited and incredibly fortunate.

Damn it, this New Continent really has abundant food. No wonder they dare to bring back people from the Ming Dynasty ship after ship.

Even if there isn't enough food, there are plenty of fish here, so we can manage no matter what.

Yes, I won't have to worry about going hungry anymore.
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(End of this chapter)