Chapter 3560
Chapter 3560
Chapter 3560
Although he managed to make these natives understand the simple map before leaving, and the communication was not in vain, Luo Shenghuai actually understood that the information he could convey to the other party would probably stop here. If he wanted to make these natives obey him, it would be difficult to achieve his goal through such communication methods.
Of course, he also had a simpler and more effective option, which was to use force directly to capture all the natives and make them slaves.
However, this is not a good idea. Putting aside the humanitarian issues, forcibly captured indigenous people may not necessarily provide efficient labor results. Sing Tao has very rich practical experience in this regard.
In addition to immigrants from formal channels, a considerable proportion of the population that Xingdao Region obtained from the outside world came from the slave trade. These slaves often did not obey the official labor arrangements and even tried every means to resist. Their work efficiency was often far lower than that of formal immigrants.
Therefore, although Sing Tao still purchases young and strong people from slave traders today, the treatment they provide has been much better than in the early days. Not only does it stipulate a labor period to escape slavery, it even provides those with good performance with the opportunity to become citizens.
These measures not only improved the labor efficiency of slaves, but also greatly reduced the conflicts and casualties caused by slave rebellions, and reduced the cost of using slave labor in various industries on Star Island.
Therefore, as long as the local natives did not show obvious hostility, Luo Shenghuai did not intend to turn them into slaves. Although the other party was an uncivilized native, if they really wanted to subdue this tribe of three to five hundred people, they would have to send out a considerable number of troops to complete the roundup. In Luo Shenghuai's opinion, there was no need to organize such a combat operation.
After returning to the camp, Luo Shengding asked about the meeting with the indigenous tribe, and Luo Shenghuai told him the truth that the meeting did not achieve the expected results.
Luo Shengding was somewhat worried about this: "Brother, as you said, the indigenous tribes make a living by hunting, and there must be many brave and aggressive people. If they see that we live a prosperous life and have abundant supplies in the future, will they have evil intentions and rob the people?"
Luo Shenghuai said: "From what I have seen, the other party does not show any resistance to contact. We can send some salt, iron and other materials to maintain the relationship and slowly teach them how to trade. If they are not willing to be taught, then it will not be too late to take other actions at that time."
Luo Shengding saw that his brother had no intention of attacking the natives, so he did not insist. The other side did not even have metal weapons, so it was unlikely that they would cause much trouble.
The Luo brothers' main focus will continue to be on the various tasks of establishing a colony.
In addition to building settlements and ports, the livelihood of immigrants is also one of the important things they must consider.
There are quite a lot of rivers and lakes near Swan Lake, with abundant water resources. In addition, the terrain is flat and the soil is fertile, making it very suitable for cultivating farmland.
However, this place is located in the Southern Hemisphere, and the seasons are quite different from those in the Northern Hemisphere. It is not like Sing Tao Island, where there is no clear seasonal changes throughout the year.
Now May has entered the late autumn season and is about to usher in the arrival of winter. The next three months will be the period with the lowest temperature in the year.
According to the information Roger got from Sanya, although the temperature here in winter will not drop to the point where it snows, there will be wind and rain throughout the winter, similar to the rainy season in Xingdao that lasts for four to five months from the end of each year to the beginning of the year. It is not until September that the weather here will gradually improve, the temperature will rise, and it will enter a season suitable for farming and sowing.
This means that in the next three months, it will probably be difficult for immigrants and garrison troops to grow food crops locally, and staple foods such as rice and flour will probably still have to rely on supplies from the base camp.
Fortunately, the expedition fleet was prepared for this when it set out. It not only carried a large amount of reserve grain, but also a variety of poultry and livestock, and was able to open multiple farms and ranches locally.
In addition, local aquatic products are another major source of food. The warm currents near the coast create natural fishing grounds for the nearby waters, and there are also a large number of freshwater fish available for fishing in Swan Lake. The only problem fishermen need to worry about is whether their fishing nets are strong enough.
Some cash crops that are not so picky about the season and climate and have a long growth cycle can be planted now. Oil, rubber, spices, fruit trees and other crops will bring considerable economic benefits to local people when they enter the harvest season in the future.
In addition, the expedition fleet also brought a hundred mulberry trees and a batch of silkworm seeds. After determining the location of the colony, they immediately found a suitable location nearby and transplanted the mulberry trees into the soil. After a few months, when spring arrived, they could try to hatch the silkworm seeds.
Silk products are one of Hai Han's most profitable export commodities, but Xingdao is located in the tropics and the climate is not suitable for the development of silkworm breeding. Roger and Tan Juren have been coveting this lucrative business for many years.
The location of Swan Harbor is similar in latitude to the silk-producing Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in the southern hemisphere, and is also a coastal area, so the Sing Tao authorities want to try to introduce silkworm breeding to the area. If successful, the textile industry chain can be established here, which is expected to become one of the pillar industries here.
Another local infrastructure project that must be completed as soon as possible is the shipyard.
The natural environment near Swan Lake provides ample forests, and there is no need to worry about the dock being affected by the wind and waves caused by severe weather at sea.
Of course, the most important reason is that in the future, all ships stationed here, large and small, cannot travel thousands of miles back to the shipyard in Xingdao for repairs. There must be relevant institutions in the local area to support the daily operation and repair and maintenance of the ships here.
In addition, the Luo brothers did not forget one of their missions here, which was to explore the mineral deposits in the surrounding areas and develop a mining plan.
Mining was the real pillar industry that the Singaporean authorities had planned for the new colony. As long as they could get hold of the three mineral deposits known in advance, namely coal, iron and gold, it would be enough to make the colony prosperous. This was the real treasure trove for the colonial authorities.
Of course, knowing the approximate location in advance saves a lot of trouble, but it is not an easy task to find out the specific locations that can be mined and formulate corresponding mining plans.
The approximate locations of these mines seem not far away on larger-scale maps, but they are often dozens to hundreds of miles away from Swan Lake. The prospecting team must go deep inland to complete the mission.
In order to ensure the safety of the technical personnel, the Luo brothers also equipped each team with at least one company of armed forces as guards, as well as survival supplies that can sustain them in the wild for twenty days.