Nanyang Storm 1864

End of August 1901
Just after the first Lunar New Year of the new century, in Mojia Town, located dozens of kilometers north of Dahaiwan City.

This is a small ranch town with about 400 to 500 households, featuring typical Chinese architecture, including land temples, memorial archways, and ancestral halls. It is home to the Mo family, headed by ranch owner Mo Xingli, and their hired workers.

The center of the town is the tall Mo family archway and arcade. The town guild and ancestral hall are also located here. There are also some commercial shops surrounding it, forming a wide town square.

Mo Xingli, who is over 5 years old, has gray hair on his temples, but he is still strong. The deep wrinkles on his face, like those cut by a knife or an axe, are the marks of countless hardships.

He was one of the more successful early Chinese immigrants in the Congo River region. The Mo family ranch, which he managed with great effort, grew in size and developed into a central town.

Mo Xingli married 15 wives and concubines and raised 57 children, including 29 sons. His descendants totaled more than to people.

The past few years have been a good time. Coincidentally, there was a war in South Africa, and there was a huge demand for high-quality cattle and sheep on the ranch, which also allowed Mojia Town to make a lot of money.

Look, Mo Xingli personally brought more than 20 children, grandchildren and helpers, preparing to drive the cattle and sheep to the Great Bay City Pier, from where they would be loaded onto ships and sent directly to Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

More than twenty nearby ranches will produce a batch of cattle and sheep. The quotas for each family are agreed upon and allocated uniformly by the Greater Bay City Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Chamber of Commerce.

The war in South Africa has been talked about recently in radio and newspapers, and Mo Xingli knows it quite well.

It is said that the British fought very poorly and many people died on the battlefield.

Although they occupied the Boer capital, the Boers attacked everywhere and their cavalry often fought across hundreds of miles, which gave the British a lot of headaches.

He has three sons who are stationed in South African ports for a long time. They get along well with local British military officers and often get some additional orders, which bring considerable income to the ranch.

Today, the Mo Family Ranch not only sells live cattle and sheep, but also imports milk powder processing equipment from the UK at a high price and builds the first Mo’s milk powder factory in Greater Bay City.

The cereal milk powder produced can be sold at a high price in South Africa and has become an increasingly important source of income for the Mo's Ranch.

Depart early in the morning
It was already dusk when we drove the cattle and sheep from the pasture to the port dozens of kilometers away.

Mo Xingli gave some instructions, asking his children and employees to prepare for the handover and loading, then left them and went to the tavern at the dock to reminisce with old friends.

The tavern is not far from the pier. It is a bustling commercial district, where Chinese cowboys wearing cowboy hats and revolvers hang from their waists, and the atmosphere is full of wild West African style.

It's not as chaotic and disorderly as the American West, and no one shoots people at will.

The standard equipment of Chinese cowboys is to carry two guns, one long and one short, mainly to protect the safety of the cattle and prevent attacks from wild animals and horse bandits, as well as the Papar people, a nomadic tribe in Northwest Africa.

These are some light-skinned Arabs who are known for their nomadic lifestyle and human trafficking, and are also good at horseback looting.

The city of Grand Bay is located on the northwestern border of the Congo River region, adjacent to British Nigeria and French Equatorial Africa, and is often visited by Arab nomads.

There have been fewer of them in recent years. Instead, groups of Chinese cowboys have gone north to plunder women, camels, cattle and horses from Arab tribes, driving them far away.

"Hey, Lao Lei, Mr. Wang Sanye, we guys are all here." Mo Xingli walked into the tavern and saw several old acquaintances, all of whom were ranchers nearby.

Over the years, through mutual intermarriage, the ranchers around the Great Bay City have formed a very close alliance. You are in me and I am in you, and they are a local force that cannot be underestimated.

The Greater Bay City Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Association is also led by this group of people. They combine hundreds of surrounding ranches together and dominate and shape the prices of agricultural and animal husbandry products, resource allocation and other major matters.

"Hey, Mr. Mo Qi, it's been a while since we last met. I'd like to pay my respects to you." Lao Lei replied with a smile.

Several other old friends also came up to say hello. After sitting down, each of them was served a glass of real malt beer, which is also a specialty of Great Bay City.

Due to its proximity to the German colonies and the abundance of wheat, this cool and delicious alcoholic beverage quickly became popular and became a favorite of cowboys.

These are all coffees loved by Europeans, but they have almost no market in the Congo River region. They taste so bad.

It has to be tea to suit the taste of overseas Chinese.

This is different from the British who love drinking tea.

The British love to drink Darjeeling black tea. They also add honey and milk to the tea and enjoy it with small cakes and Kraft biscuits. They think they are very elegant.

Chinese people in the Congo River region also love black tea. It is really good at relieving greasiness, but they don’t like to add honey and milk. They just want the mellow and slightly bitter tea aroma.

A few old friends sat down and chatted for a while, and Uncle Wang San mentioned the cooperation of the ranch. He said;
"Seventh Brother, I heard your milk powder factory is doing very well. I have more fresh milk than I can use, and it would be a waste if I just throw it away. I might as well send it to your milk powder factory. You can decide the price as you like, just don't let me lose money."

"Yes, Mr. Mo Qi, I have some extra fresh milk. If you would be so kind as to take it all in, please."

"Yes, I was just about to discuss this with Mr. Mo Qi. There are so many ranches around us, and there's a lot of fresh milk. Can you drink it?"

Several ranchers spoke in unison, their eyes fixed on Mo Xingli's face with hope in their eyes.

In the surrounding pastures

Among them, the Mo family ranch is large in scale and has complete supporting facilities, and has formed an independent town.

Mojia Town not only has a rice mill, but also an oil press, a grinder, several blacksmith shops and leather workshops, a large department store in the surrounding area, as well as several restaurants, pancake shops, breakfast shops and tofu shops. Now, the Mo's Milk Powder Factory has been built, employing seventy or eighty people.

To say that I am not envious would be a lie.

However, the Mo family not only has several sons who have returned from studying in the empire, but also has children who studied in the UK. Their knowledge and learning are beyond the reach of others, and their business skills are also impressive.

The large and medium-sized ranches nearby basically grow some wheat, oats, rapeseed, corn, alfalfa and other grain crops, which are processed on site, mainly in rice mills and oil presses.

There are few ranches as complete as Mojia Town around Dahaiwan City.

The local staple food is pasta, which is the bran after wheat processing, mixed with oil residue, corn stalks and alfalfa. It is a high-quality concentrate feed for large livestock and is very beneficial for fattening livestock.

In addition, these large and medium-sized ranches also raise some dairy cows, and the fresh milk they produce is used for drinking and making pastries, sweets and cheese. The cheese-making method is also passed down from Europeans.

However, the amount used in the ranch is limited, so there will be some surplus.

But when it comes to the number of dairy cows on hand, Mo's Ranch stands out, with a stock of more than 570 heads, mainly supplying the Mo's milk powder factory.

As milk powder becomes increasingly popular in South Africa, Mo's Ranch is now facing a shortage of raw materials.

On the one hand, we will increase the birth rate of high-quality dairy cows, increase purchases from outside, and increase the number of dairy cows in stock. The recent goal is to increase the number of dairy cows to 1500, all of which will be exported to South Africa.

On the other hand, there is a real need to purchase fresh milk, which is one of the purposes of his trip.

Although it is necessary, it cannot be expressed.

Mo Xingli had also been in the livestock business for decades, and an embarrassment appeared on his face. After hesitating for two or three minutes, he finally said in the expectant eyes of the crowd, "Brothers, we are all old friends. Now that you have spoken, I, Mo Laoqi, will not eat alone.

It can be delivered, but it must be delivered by truck and must be placed in clean, large-bellied wine jars.

The wine jar must be cleaned every time it is filled, and no water stains should be left to prevent the fresh milk from spoiling.

There is one more

It must be delivered within ten hours after milking. If it is delivered after the deadline, it will no longer be fresh milk, but stale milk, which cannot be made into milk powder.

As for the price, you won’t lose out by charging according to the market price of fresh milk.

Everyone, go back and send one or two trucks first to see if it works. If they are all suitable, we will continue to cooperate.

If that's not possible, or the milk isn't fresh, or there are other issues, then there's no need to continue, as it might damage the relationship."

"Mr. Mo Qi's words make sense. I'll do as you say."

"Okay, we have the cars ready. I'll send two of them over as per your request. If that works, we'll continue our cooperation."

"That's right, that's the truth. Master Qi is so kind and righteous. We thank you for your kindness."

The other farmers thought what he said made sense and echoed his words, and the atmosphere became more harmonious.

The old friends chatted with each other, and the topic turned to the steel plant they invested in Huangshi City.

Lao Lei took over the conversation and said;

"Everyone, I know this.

A while ago, I went to buy a calf and stayed in Yellowstone City for more than ten days. The development there is much better than our Big Bay City. The city is bigger and has more people.

Many wealthy Chinese businessmen from the local area invested in building factories in Huangshi City, recruited employees, and started businesses, making it a very lively place.

It is said that a steel plant that started production in March has received an order for 3 tons of barbed wire from South Africa, and the price offered is quite good.

He made a business of five or six hundred thousand pounds in one go, which made people envious."

"Fuck, do the British need so much barbed wire?" someone asked in surprise.

Lao Lei had inquired more clearly, shook his head in disdain, and explained;
"My dear brother, you are so ignorant. This is just the beginning.

The British were having a difficult time fighting in South Africa. The Boer cavalry were elusive and attacked British supply storage points and railway lines everywhere, burning entire trainloads of supplies.

The British are now not only actively recruiting cavalry, but also have a great demand for horses.

In addition, a large number of bunkers had to be built, deep trenches had to be dug, and barbed wire had to be laid to completely block the Boer cavalry.

It is said that tens of thousands of bunkers will be built. Just imagine how much steel and cement will be used?

How much barbed wire would it take to cordon off a colony of 1.4 to 5 million square kilometers?
Business people in Huangshi City said that even if they multiplied the amount by 10 or 20 times, it wouldn't be enough, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of tons of barbed wire. This is a huge business opportunity."

After saying this, everyone present was amazed and shocked by the generosity of the British.

What kind of tycoon's style of play is this?
The powerful countries with slightly weaker economic strength probably wouldn't even dare to think about it.

The total number of Boers in South Africa is only four or five hundred thousand, and the British Expeditionary Force now piled up in South Africa has exceeded 40, which is no less than the number of Boers.

Even so, it was difficult to suppress the flames of the Boer resistance.

The South African plateau, hills and plains, which stretch for thousands of miles, have a vast depth and are very suitable for Boer cavalry combat.

This clumsy method of "building a fortress and strangling the enemy step by step" cannot be said to be useless. It consumes too much money and manpower and requires a huge amount of resources.

The ranchers present here are actually all qualified cavalry commanders. They are responsible for defending thousands of kilometers of northern border defense lines, and they have fought in many large and small battles over the past few decades.

Some were counter-invasion, while others were proactive attacks, going deep into enemy territory to burn, kill and loot. Basically, these were all done by this group of civilian cavalry.

Along the northern railway line with a total length of more than 1470 kilometers is the northern border of the Congo River Governor's Office. The defense zone of the Grand Bay City occupies one-third of it, which is more than 1 kilometers long.

It is simply impossible to guard such a long border line with only the border cavalry regiment stationed in the Great Bay City. They would be too exhausted to watch over it.

Therefore, the northern border was patrolled by an armed Chinese militia organized by nearby ranchers.

Taking Mojia Town as an example, there is a militia cavalry company called the Mojia Town Cavalry Company, which is composed of cowboys in the town.

Every six months, a cavalry platoon is sent to participate in border patrols, joining up with cavalry sent from other ranches to patrol the north.

It lasted for three months, and all supplies were provided by Mojia Town.

The Governor's Office provided appropriate subsidies, the amount was not much, but it was better than nothing.

In the early years
There were still frequent Arab slave traders and Papal bandits roaming around, but they were continuously attacked by Chinese civilian cavalry and disappeared more than ten years ago.

As a result, routine border patrols became distorted.

Militia commanders who could no longer restrain themselves would often lead border cavalry patrols northward across the border, deep into the camps and pastures of Arab nomadic tribes, burning, killing and looting, calling it "taking advantage of the situation."

The Governor's Office turned a blind eye to this and pretended not to see it.

In the past, the French allowed Algeria's Papar to invade the south. Now, the Chinese cavalry regiments frequently cross the border, constantly attacking these Arab nomadic tribes, and looting cattle, sheep and people.

All spoils will belong to the cavalry regiment that "takes advantage of the situation". The casualties and risks will be borne by themselves, and the Governor's Office will not bear any responsibility.

This flexible fighting style made the Berber tribes miserable and they moved away from the area.

Today, it is rare to see large gatherings of Arab tribes across the northern border for hundreds of kilometers.

Because of this, many Chinese ranchers simply drove their cattle to the northern valleys to graze, and they were not obstructed.

The French colony of Algeria covered an area of ​​tens of millions of square kilometers. It was simply too vast, and the French were mostly concentrated along the northern Mediterranean coast. How could they possibly manage it? (End of this chapter)