The time entered April, and the 1,000 acres of soybeans sown through the public entered the critical filling period. Jinkola and the people from the Agricultural Bureau ate and lived in the fields almost all day. Since there was no rain for more than 20 consecutive days, the Executive Committee even mobilized a large number of people to carry out artificial irrigation to ensure production. After all, this embodies the painstaking efforts of the people for more than half a year, and there is no room for sloppiness.

In the early morning of 21 April, the cool South Atlantic monsoon brought the long-awaited humidity across the harbour, as well as an old friend after a half-year absence, Captain Coot, sailed into harbour with his Galen ship, the Orange River.

Wang Qinian on Yunsheng No. 1 initially thought it was an enemy attack. When Peng Zhicheng rushed over with two squads of guards to reinforce him, he found that Captain Kuaite had already boarded the dock in a small boat.

The news spread quickly, and many of the crossers who did not go to work also rushed to the docks.

"Dear Gao, I'm back!" Captain Couayt was dressed in a well-dressed gown and looked pretty good, apparently the guy had changed his clothes before disembarking.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my captain." As a member of the diplomatic council, Gao Mo naturally had to rush to the scene as soon as possible.

"I'm just as glad to meet you, Gao. I was very impressed with the port. The sturdy soldiers, the beautiful porcelain, and this amazing ship. Kuaite looked back at Yunsheng One, "To be honest, you guys really amaze me. It's only been a few months since you saw each other, and you've built such a sturdy dock. As he said the word solid, Cuait stomped vigorously on the concrete floor of the pier.

"You'll get used to it all in the future." Gao Mo smiled, "Why don't you tell us what gifts you brought us?" ”

"Ha Luha, of course." Kuaite grinned, "Captain Kuayt has always had a good reputation, and I brought what you needed as promised. Ox, horses, sheep, seeds, copper, lead, saltpeter, brimstone, graphite, canvas, weapons, everything you need, and, of course, a shipload of Swiss Calvinist immigrants, and a handful of German, Dutch and English craftsmen. ”

With Captain Kuat's words, the sailors on the Orange River behind him lowered their gangplanks, and a group of European men and women in shabby clothes began to disembark in silence. Most of the people in this group are young adults, and there are even children among them. Some people have some simple luggage, and many more have nothing.

In the 17th century, there was widespread famine in Europe, as evidenced by their skyrocketing food prices. Switzerland is located in a mountainous area, and during this cold Xiaoice period, the agricultural production cycle was already greatly reduced, and the expansion of the Alpine glaciers led to the continuous reduction of arable land and years of famine. This, combined with the religious persecution of Protestant Calvinists by traditionally Catholic believers, contributed to the idea of these Swiss immigrants trying their luck in the New World.

There were a total of 183 immigrants brought by Kuayt this time, and the rest were Swiss immigrants, except for 15 craftsmen from various countries. Among them, 109 were young men, 59 were women and children, most of them were Germans, and a few were French. These people stood on the dock in a daze, looking at the "Tatars" who came one after another, slightly nervous.

Judicial Commissioner Beth, who was given an emergency mandate from the Executive Committee, announced to the newcomers that they had officially become hired workers for the East Coast Company. They will work for the East Coast company for at least 5 years to cover the cost of their ferry tickets to the Americas. This was the same as Captain Kuayt had advertised before they came, and they were basically able to accept it, with the only fear being whether they would take on extremely heavy labor.

Beyond the population are supplies. As a result of the agreement with the traversers, Captain Kuayt brought a large number of urgently needed materials for the traversers: 20 tons of copper and 10 tons of lead; 50 new Sur arquebuses and 10 guns of various types (with gunpowder and a number of projectiles); canvas, tents, saltpeter, sulfur, rigging, graphite, brass, fishing nets, cloth, medicines, seeds; 4 Holstein cattle, 4 Simmental cattle, 8 Andalusian horses, 12 sheep, goats and pigs, chickens, ducks and geese.

After the arrival of these materials, the living and production level of the people will surely get a leap. Jin Kela led the livestock and poultry to the Agricultural Bureau with a happy face, and the weapons were received by Peng Zhicheng and Wang Qinian, while Shao Shude was responsible for piling up the remaining materials into the warehouse and making a book of statistics.

The newcomers were housed in the simple wooden huts they had previously lived in. Now dozens of brick houses have been built in the crossing, and many people have moved in, just in time to vacate the vacant houses. Those who have a family live in a separate room according to the family, and those who do not have a family are divided into four rooms for men and women. Among the newcomers were 5 shipbuilders, 2 gunsmiths, 2 gunsmiths, 1 blacksmith, 1 carpenter, 1 rope maker, 1 sailmaker, 1 winemaker, priest (doctor, chemist, painter...). 1 person.

Originally, he just asked Kuaite to find some talents in shipbuilding and gun making, but he didn't expect to find so many in one go. However, they are all talents who are useful to the traversal, and Gao Mo naturally can't ask for them. The executive committee treated these craftsmen well, not only to enjoy a single room, but also to enjoy some wine, meat and other food.

The question of the political status of the new immigrants has caused a great deal of controversy within the Crossing Public, and even the thinking of the Executive Committee is not completely unified. As a last resort, Ma Ganzu proposed that night, the second plenary meeting was held through the congregation.

The conference focused on the political status of the cross-border communities and the political status of the new settlers. The first topic is good to say, the current internal organization of the crossing is there, but there is still a lack of a unified external name, to put it bluntly, whether it is in the name of the state or in some other name to deal with people.

Many of the young people said that the country should be established immediately, while some of the older people believed that the name of the country was more sensitive, and that it should continue to develop in a low-key name such as the East Coast Company, and then play the banner of the country when the time was ripe.

At present, this group of people is still mainly young people, and these people have formed a stable small collective through the labor of some time ago, and the advantage of numbers will make it very likely that they will pass any proposal. However, the approval of more than two-thirds of the people was required on such a major matter as the establishment of the state, and as a result, the proposal for the establishment of the "East Coast Republic of China" put forward by a group of young people headed by Xiao Mingli received only 61 percent of the votes in favor. The decision was made at the meeting afterwards whether to continue to interact with the outside world in the name of the East Coast Company.

The second proposal was on the political status of the new settlers. The question is, to put it bluntly, whether new immigrants can achieve and cross equal political status. At present, these immigrants are still indentured slaves of the East Coast Company, and they need to work for the East Coast Company for 5 years before they can obtain the status of free people.

"Freemen may be granted land, but they cannot be given the right to vote and to be elected." Xiao Mingli's words were supported by a large number of people, "This land belongs to all of our 568 people, and we must not let others touch it." ”

"We can't fight the world on our own, we always have to absorb fresh blood. What can we do with just a few hundred of us? It's good not to be destroyed. Suddenly, someone stood up against Xiao Mingli's speech.

"We can give them land, give them jobs, give them a better life. They will be grateful to us. ”

"When you have no worries about life, you will ask for political status. In the future, there will be more and more immigrants, and with more than 500 of us, how can we suppress the political demands of others? Aren't you worried that they will rise up and make a revolution? Maybe this generation won't, but what about the next generation? ”

"I think we can give them the right to vote and the right to be elected, it's not a big deal. As long as we have these industries and capital firmly in our hands, we can influence the political situation through the power of capital in the future and be an invisible nobleman, isn't it great? ”

"If you want to take advantage of others, you have to treat them as equals."

"Lao Tzu doesn't want to give the foundation he created from scratch to the white pig."

The debate is getting more and more intense. Neither side of the rivalry could convince anyone, and in the end they could only form a compromise proposal. That is: 1. After obtaining the status of a free citizen and being proficient in listening and speaking Chinese, new immigrants can apply for naturalization to the Immigration Bureau under the jurisdiction of the Foreign Affairs Commission, and after the approval of the Immigration Bureau, the immigrants will obtain official status, have the right to vote, and can obtain the right to be elected after 15 years of residence. 2. At present, all the workshops, land, and infrastructure owned by the company are assigned to the East Coast Company and operated by it, and the shares of the East Coast Company are equally distributed to 568 people. 3. The General Assembly was renamed the General Congress, which was changed from a term of 3 years to a term of 6 years, and the re-election of the delegates to the General Assembly was not carried out for the time being. The term of office of all members of the Executive Committee is automatically extended to six years.

These two proposals consumed too much energy. The next proposal to elect two additional members of the Executive Committee was uneventful, with Du Wen being elected as the education committee member and Xiao Mingli as the civil committee member. Du Wen is responsible for the establishment of the Education Bureau to provide compulsory education for minors under the Executive Committee. In addition, it is necessary to set up night literacy classes to teach Chinese to immigrants, so that they can master Chinese as soon as possible. More than half a year has passed, and several couples of men and women have applied for marriage to the Executive Committee, and it is time to improve these institutions.

On April 22, 1631, the newcomers from Switzerland were assigned to various units and began their new lives.

Captain Kouyt's supplies, including the cost of the emigration, cost about £1,600, or about 3,600 ducats. To be honest, this price is not too dark, after all, the price of 8 Andalusi horses accounts for nearly half.

The cash on hand through the crowd was only 2,100 ducats, but fortunately none of this required a cash transaction, and Captain Kuayt only needed lovely Chinese porcelain. For this purpose, the Travelers paid 60 boxes of porcelain, and in addition to offsetting the payment for the goods, Captain Couayt also paid an additional amount of gold and silver coins worth about 17,400 ducats. As for why Captain Kuayt had so much cash for him, it is said that he had borrowed a lot of money in Amsterdam.

On 25 April, Captain Couay returned with his Orange River satisfied.