For industrial development is inseparable from coal as an energy consumable, South America is relatively lacking in coal resources, and the coal mining areas in Brazil are mainly located in the three southern states, and the southern part of Santa Catarina and the northern part of Rio Gran do Sul have concentrated coal resources.

The Brazilian forces withdrew from the two southern states, and the Chinese troops took over the three open-pit coal mines left behind by the Brazilians, and then discovered two more unmined coal areas under the guidance of the captured Brazilians.

Three of the five coal mining areas are located near Pasophondu, and the remaining two are located in the east-west section of the Chinese-dominated area of the Uruguay River, which is transported by water from the Uruguay River and then transshipped to Pasuphondu by land, and the cost of transportation is acceptable.

Located in the center of the coal-producing region of the three southern states of Brazil, backed by the Guaguiba River, Pasuphondu is an ideal base for industrial construction, so Li Mingyuan sent a large number of retired soldiers to the local area in advance to carry out infrastructure construction, and prepared to place the factory equipment such as steelmaking, muskets, cannons, and ammunition brought from Prussia here.

Li Mingyuan pointed to the area south of the Guayiba estuary and said: "An industrial base will be built here in the future, and steel smelters and weapons and ammunition production plants will be laid out along the riverbank; Light industrial factories such as weaving mills, match mills, and flour mills are located on the outskirts of the river in Pasuphondu.

Taking advantage of the Guaiba River's connection to the coastal seas, we purchased iron, copper and other metal ores from the outside, and then sent the processed products along the river banks to the various areas of Rio Grande do Sul, so as to solve the supply of daily necessities for ordinary Chinese people in the territory and achieve basic self-sufficiency in weapons and ammunition. ”

There are five prerequisites for a large-scale industrial system: sufficient domestic and international markets, sufficient capital to purchase machinery and equipment and pay for labor, abundant metal and mineral resources, mastery of relevant technologies, and a well-trained skilled technician.

However, there is a big problem in front of Li Mingyuan: the five prerequisites are that only the funds in Rio Gran do Sul can meet the requirements, the domestic population is small, the coal and metal mineral resources are insufficient, the industrial technology and skilled workers are all lacking, and the industrial base is poor and white.

Among the disadvantages, population is the biggest obstacle to the development of industry in Rio Gran do Sul.

Industrial technology, industrial equipment, and mineral resources can be bought with money, and skilled workers can also hire foreign technicians to teach, and only population is the foundation of a country's industrial development.

The mainland is saturated with human resources, and there are a large number of Chinese workers in Nanyang and Cuba who can emigrate, and the population problem of restricting industrial construction in Rio Gran do Sul can also be solved to a certain extent.

"Muskets, artillery, ammunition are bought from Europeans, it costs a lot of money every time, and if we can build our own weapons factory, we can save a lot of money every year."

He was not very clear about Li Mingyuan's discussion of industrial issues with Liu Pu, but as a great steward who was in charge of the financial and logistical affairs of the Chinese troops, he was able to see the amount of money spent on the purchase of weapons and ammunition every time and again, so no one among the Chinese could better understand the necessity of establishing a weapons factory than him.

"Sun Bin sent a telegram that there are 700 Prussian mechanics in the returning fleet, and when they arrive in Rio Grande do Sul, they will be used as workers and trainers to install factory equipment, and we must carefully select retired soldiers to join the factory and learn operating techniques from them, so as to train our own skilled workers as soon as possible."

"The first batch of Cuban Chinese workers will arrive within ten days, and with the follow-up and retired soldiers, more than 100,000 young and strong Chinese should be able to select enough apprentices."

After answering Li Mingyuan's question, Liu Pu felt that some places were not very appropriate, and continued, "How to build a factory is not as clear as that of foreigners, but the development of industry requires coal and iron ore, there is no iron ore in Rio Gran do Sul, and the Brazilians signed a contract promising to lift the embargo on our materials, but they will not really sell us iron ore, and even if they sell it to us, the price will be higher than usual."

There was no iron ore, weapons factories were built without raw materials for production, muskets and ammunition remained not self-sufficient.

Shizi, if the problem of the source of iron ore is not solved, the future development path of Rio Grande do Sul will always be limited, and this problem cannot but be solved in advance. ”

"The lack of mineral resources is a major shortcoming for Rio Grande do Sul, and in order to obtain raw materials, we need to source metal ores from other countries other than Brazil.

South America, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela and Colombia along the Caribbean coast, and Peru, where we revolted, all have a lot of mineral resources.

Peru is the closest to us, but there are Bolivia, Paraguay along the way, Chile and Argentina between us, and it is impossible to buy metal ore from these two countries in the short term, so before we have our own iron ore mining area, we can only import iron ore from Venezuela and Colombia. ”

The minerals of Colombia and Venezuela are mainly in the hands of British and American businessmen, will the Chinese rashly intervene cause their dissatisfaction? Liu Pu secretly speculated.

The British were well-deserved world hegemons in the nineteenth century, they used warships and cannons to open the door of China, and the Taiping Army, which had personally fought with the British in the south, had seen their strength, so when thinking about the problem, Liu Pu subconsciously considered the attitude of the British.

Sensing Liu Pu's concern, Li Mingyuan smiled and said, "We don't want to grab what the British fancy from them, we can buy land and mineral mining rights from Colombia and Venezuela, and then send people to explore and develop, without losing the interests of the British." ”

"But Shizi, how do we know where there are mineral resources, and if we buy land but can't find metal deposits, isn't it a waste of money?"

Where are Colombia and Venezuela, Liu Pu only has a rough geographical location in his mind, not only has he not been there, but Li Mingyuan and most of the other Chinese workers have not been there, will the success of exploring the mine in an unfamiliar place be high? Liu Pu was not sure.

"The first time Brother Lehan contacted us was passing through Colombia, and it was he who found an unmined open-pit iron mine deep in the mountains and told me."

It is impossible for Li Mingyuan to tell Liu Pu his secret, so he can only push the news to Li Han.

Li Mingyuan's reason is very lame, Liu Pu found a lot of loopholes at the beginning, Li Han secretly crossed the border from Colombia, and there were Colombian troops chasing him behind, how could he be so lucky to discover the iron ore field?

Li Mingyuan has a lot of secrets that others don't know, he doesn't want to say it, and Liu Pu doesn't want to ask too much, so he has to arrange the people below to do things according to his instructions.