"It's a dense forest." Standing on the edge of the Chaco Forest, one of the young students on the expedition couldn't help but say.

Yes, after walking through river valleys, grasslands, and swamps, anyone will be shocked at the first sight of such a vast area of woods. It is difficult to know the exact size of the forest in a short period of time, so it will take some time to send people to survey and draw maps in all directions on horseback.

Wang Zhijie is also the leading brand in the botanical community on the east coast, and at a cursory glance, he can see many kinds of trees: elephant ear beans, paradise trees, laurels, oaks, cedars, red axe trees, etc., and there are many white palms and Chilean willows growing near the riverbank.

As the name suggests, this wood, mainly north of the Bermejo River, is rich in tree species and has a very dense evergreen community. And if you look closer, you'll see that it's pretty much the same, with jagged trees, a wide variety of trees, wildflowers, weeds, shrubs, and of course climbing tall climbing plants.

There is no doubt that this forest already has the characteristics of a large forest, although it cannot be compared with the dense primeval forest on the Xuanwu Plateau in the north of Hejian - both in number and shape, for example, the canopy height of the Xuanwu forest is generally between 20-25 meters, which is inferior to this side - but it is quite good. You know, this is the endless Chaco Plain, which is originally dominated by grasslands, and it is very good to have such a forest.

Seeing this forest, Wang Zhijie couldn't help but recall that he had seen a large forest somewhere south of the Bermejo River before. The forest, known to the Spaniards as the "Chaco Forest" (the one in front of you is known as the "Formosa Forest"), grows in a more arid area and is generally more drought-tolerant than here. The forest is relatively empty, with a slightly smaller number of tree species, lacking the dense and diverse characteristics of tropical forests, and its trees are almost always growing alone, so it is somewhat sparse.

The largest and most famous of the Chaco forests is, of course, the Broken Axe Tree. There are also many such trees in the Hejian area, and they have been harvested and processed in large quantities, and have been applied to all aspects of industry, construction and even furniture, exerting great economic value. The tree is hard and rich in tannin, which is quite valuable in industry, and the canopy is wide and the tree is tall, so it is also very valuable in civil use. And it is precisely because of this characteristic that all kinds of axe trees have been frantically cut down in the river area, and the number has dropped sharply in a short period of time, and it is believed that if the government does not take action to stop it, the group of axe trees in the river will be cut down and extinct in a few decades - this is not a joke, some places have already verified. Because the Broken Axe Tree grows extremely slowly, once it is cut down, the vacated ground is quickly replaced by other fast-growing ones.

In addition to the economically valuable trees such as the axe tree, it is worth mentioning that there are also guaiac trees (which occupy a dominant position in some parts of the forest, the wood is heavy, aromatic, and quite valued, but it cannot be used in the propeller propulsion system like its close relatives in Central America, which is a pity), yellow laurel, spindle wood, thorn tree, herdescart tree, etc., are the darlings of the timber market and have a certain development value.

"This forest is very important, we will spend some time investigating it next, let's set up camp now and inform Lieutenant Zhao." Wang Zhijie found a dry place, put down a blanket, and then sat down and said.

If you find such a large forest, especially in Chaco, a plain dominated by short-grass grasslands and swampy wetlands, you must investigate it carefully and draw a map, otherwise you will not be able to go back.

Lieutenant Zhao was a veteran in his forties who was later redrafted into the reserve system. Because of his rich experience and determination, he was appointed as the deputy leader of this expedition, focusing on safety and security, and was responsible to Wang Zhijie. Prior to this, he had also accompanied several expeditions into deserts, wastelands, and rainforests, and was familiar with the business, so Wang Zhijie immediately beckoned his subordinates to set up camp as soon as he mentioned it.

The equipment for camping is all on-site, on the back of mules and horses, and it doesn't take long to dismantle it. At most, send someone to cut down a few trees in the forest in front of you and get some wood to reinforce the camp, after all, there is still a big difference between a long-term camp and a temporary one, and you can't be sloppy.

As for himself, he took people to hunt at the edge of the nearby woods, intending to add more food to the group later. There are so many animals (especially large animals) on the Chaco Plains that it is no wonder that the Indians called it the country of hunting! Lieutenant Zhao still remembers that he had the honor to encounter an Indian hunting behavior along the way before, which was very interesting: the indigenous Quechua people like to hunt in a "desperate situation", that is, to hunt and catch wild beasts with no way to escape in the triangle where the two rivers meet, which is really a little dumbfounded, and I think that the brains of these barbarians are indeed quite large.

The camp was quickly rough, and Wang Zhijie smoked spicy tobacco while feeling the waves coming from the forest. In a relaxed mood, Lieutenant Zhao and the others soon returned on horseback with a smile on their backs, bringing back two deer and a formidable poisonous snake called "yarara" by the Quechua people.

In fact, if you are not in a hurry to get down to business, the Chaco Plains are still worth some time for hunting enthusiasts. For no other reason, there are so many animals here! Not to mention the horses, cattle and sheep that were rewilded after the Spaniards were lost, other large animals such as tapirs, mountain boars, armadillos, deer, ostriches and even anteaters abound, crocodiles, snakes and cats (tiger cats, bobcats, jaguars, jaguars, etc.) are also everywhere, and the land is an amazing animal kingdom.

And it is precisely because the Chaco Plain is so rich that it is possible to support many Indian tribes above. You know, their low level of Chinese is still in the stage of fishing, hunting or gathering; Those with a slightly higher level of civilization are in a nomadic or nomadic state; With the help of the Spaniards, they lived a settled life and made a living from agriculture. Regardless of the stage of civilization, however, almost every Quechua tribe hunted as an important supplement to their food source, and the plains were littered with so many animals that they died at their hands every year, so much so that the vast plains had the nickname "Chaco" (the land of hunting).

The people of the east coast also hunted a lot along the way, and even had some skirmishes with the Quechua people because of the hunting (fortunately, they were all handled properly), and they are no strangers to how to deal with wild meat. Therefore, when Lieutenant Zhao and the others brought the prey back, a group of men immediately stepped forward to produce the prey, and then got busy: everyone was about to collapse when they ate dry and hard bread and pickled crocodile meat on weekdays, and there would be fresh prey to fight for tooth sacrifices, and naturally their morale was high.

"You didn't encounter an Indian peep on the road, did you?" Wang Zhijie walked up to Lieutenant Zhao and asked casually. He still had in his hand a plan he had just written, which the students had given him to correct for the future development of the Chaco Plains.

His students carefully analyzed various factors such as topography, climate, hydrology, soil, and resources in the Chaco Plains, and finally made several major plans. One is the timber harvesting and processing industry in forest areas (Chaco and Formosa forests), including the extraction of tannic acid from the axe tree, a chemical with high industrial use. He believes that the future of this business is very high, because the East Coast has an impressive leather production, and there is a great demand for this important raw material for tanned leather, which is very valuable for development.

The second is to vigorously promote cotton cultivation in the Chaco Plains. Especially outside the floodplain of the Chaco Plains, the sun is shining, the sunshine is abundant, the rainfall is not very much, and it is a large plain as far as the eye can see, which is very suitable for the growth and harvesting of cotton crops. Although the soil layer on the Chaco Plains is a little thin and not as rich in nutrients as in the next river, it should not be a problem if you take care of it. It's a big deal, it's good to strictly implement the rotation and fallow system, the Chaco Plain is so big, there is no need to stare at a piece of land and use it desperately.

The student carefully compared the situation of the Daqing Basin on New Huaxia Island, the main cotton-producing area in the East Coast of China today, and finally concluded that the Chaco Plain is not inferior at all, and even has a greater advantage because of its proximity to the local processing area, provided that someone invests in the construction of railways, roads and wharves in the Chaco Plain.

He optimistically predicts that if cotton farming can spread in the Chaco Plain, it will attract a large number of immigrants to settle here. In that case, the barren land would soon be filled with dense towns, and the banner of the Republic of the East Coast of China would spread throughout the plain (the development of the Argentine Chaco Plain in later generations, which had become the country's main cotton-producing region), and that was not what the Executive Committee would have liked?

Thirdly, the student believes that the cultivation of tropical crops can also be appropriately promoted. For example, he cites the example of a Spanish colonial town in the north that has managed to grow a lot of bananas, and thinks that this place can follow suit. Sugarcane, bananas, and citrus can be vigorously promoted, as can temperate crops such as corn, wheat, rice, and castor. In short, because the climate here is just right (more than 210 frost-free days a year), whether it is the cultivation of cash crops, or the cultivation of food crops, or the raising of livestock, there are very good conditions, and it is worth trying.

At the end of the article, the student believes that in the future, the East Coast can relocate all kinds of cotton mills to the Chaco Plain to take advantage of the abundant cotton resources here. In any case, the Paraguay River is quite navigable, and it is easy to transport all kinds of cloth produced by boat. In addition, leather tanning and processing, tropical food processing, etc., can be invested here.

To be honest, Wang Zhijie still appreciates this kind of planning, whether it can be achieved or not, at least this kind of thinking is very commendable. In particular, he endorsed the idea of turning the Chaco Plain into a cotton production base for the East Coast Republic. He observed the meteorological data recorded by Wang Dazhuang in the past two years, and found that the temperature here is relatively high, the sunshine is sufficient, and the rainfall in summer will also stop the cotton buds blooming, which is simply too good to be good, and must be used well.

It's just that in the future, if the Chaco Plain, a hunting country, really becomes a cotton production base on the east coast, then the new Huaxia Island, which is far away in the southwest Indian Ocean, will be depressed for a long time. Especially in the Daqing Basin, which has the largest population and the best degree of economic development, it is difficult to say whether their economy, which is dominated by dry farming and cotton cultivation, will collapse, but this is not something that Wang Zhijie can manage, anyway, he is only responsible for advising.

However, there is still a "small question" as to whether the Chaco Plain is still part of the territory of the Kingdom of Spain. How the people of the East Coast can get their hands on such a planned cotton production base in the future depends on the relationship between the two countries and the changes in the world situation.