176 Inland colonization

In addition to the five major constructions, Datang is also preparing to promote de facto control of inland states in the middle of the year. △, to put it simply, is to establish colonies in inland states. The actual territory of the Tang Dynasty is now concentrated in Jiazhou, and the Gangzhou in the north (occasionally written as Orio with a white face, everyone understands) and British Columbia, although they are also coastal, but the degree of colonial development is still relatively limited. Even more limited is the truly inland state, with only a limited number of pastures and mines in this vast state.

In 1777, the Cabinet decided to expand the area of Luanzhou, and the area west of Mount Wasatch and north of the Colorado River in Utah was assigned to Luanzhou, and the southeastern part of Gangzhou and the southern part of Idaho, which was originally unorganized, were assigned to Luanzhou, so that Luanzhou nearly doubled in area and occupied almost the entire western basin.

The Cabinet planned to send a colonization team of 500 men through the rugged Nevada Mountains and the Great Basin of the desert and the Gobi to reach the Great Salt Lake in the western part of Luanzhou, where a new colony would be built, Salt Lake City. The other colony team is about the same size, and they will travel with the first colony team, but the destination is further away, at the confluence of the Gannison and Colorado rivers in the upper reaches of the Colorado River, which is also the border area of the Tang Dynasty, to build a new town, named Huyang. Huyang will become a new inland state of Datang, the capital of Yuanzhou. The source state will be the area north of the Colorado River north of the original eastern state of Utah and west Colorado and south of the Little Snake River.

In fact, at least for 30 years, neither the Americans, nor the British, nor the Spaniards, could afford to go so far to colonize. However, the Spanish and British repeatedly organized expeditions deep into the interior. This is obviously very unbeautiful for Datang. By establishing a limited number of colonies in the interior and erecting such things as boundary monuments, with actual control, it is natural that it will be easier to stand on its feet and more forcefully when dealing with possible territorial disputes in the future.

In a deserted and unfamiliar new colony site, apparently a group of bachelors is an unstable structure, so two groups of colonists. The team of more than 1,000 people has a surprisingly balanced ratio of men and women, and a significant number of them are newlyweds. There is a trick that cannot be said clearly, many male immigrants come to Jiazhou, it is difficult to find a spouse, which is related to the economic environment of Datang, the work unit has a certain degree of closedness, and we do not have things like echat and momo in later generations, and everyone's circle of friends and communication are relatively simple, and there is nothing to do on a blind date. Especially for some immigrants who have just come from West Borneo. It's even more like this, with no relatives. And helpless.

As a result, Liu Tian, the minister of civil affairs, used a strategy to participate in the immigration of the colonial team, not only to get a lot of compensation economically, including obtaining the title deed of a large piece of land, but also to go on a blind date through official introduction. Although the blind dates are basically Indian women and Vietnamese women, most of them can only speak limited Chinese, and there are many obstacles to communication, but this also can't stand the super enthusiasm of the empty, lonely and cold men.

Soon this team was established, and before they left Jiazhou, they were all helped to hold a group wedding at the official expense of the government, and many immigrants who became groom officials were happy. At least when they arrive in the new colony, they have their own families and are able to live more steadily.

When the colonization team left, Bai Nan also went to the 1,000 people, and it was definitely not an easy task to cross the mountains and mountains and cross the desert Gobi. There were no ready-made roads, it was impossible to equip them with trucks, everyone was on horses, and the goods were transported by livestock such as mules, horses, donkeys, and large animals such as cattle. In this way, these immigrants were like nomads, carrying their tents and livestock, and carrying knives and guns to lead their women. It's just that they don't go to new pastures with abundant water and grass, but isolated islands in the interior.

"In all fairness, the conditions in Salt Lake City and Huyang are not bad, Salt Lake City is almost the best place in our country's inland conditions, where irrigation agriculture can be developed, all kinds of salts and minerals can be developed, and animal husbandry can also be developed. Huyang is located along the Colorado River, with flat terrain and fertile soil, which is suitable for agriculture. These areas also did not have particularly strong Indians, so they were suitable for peaceful living. Bai Nan said as he stood beside President Zhao Daling.

Zhao Daling looked at the team traveling from afar, and said leisurely: "If our roads and railways can't be repaired in Salt Lake City and Huyang, these areas are actually equivalent to being isolated from the world, how much can we transport by mules and horses?" In fact, the colonization team we sent in this way faced the same risk as the European colonizers in the early colonial era. The colony of Portland, Vancouver, can be replenished by our ships at any time, can transport cement and steel, and it will not take long to develop into a relatively modern city, but Huyang, Salt Lake City, will not, compared with the increasingly developed and advanced Los Angeles, they are like hundreds of years behind, obviously the same country, but the gap is so big, alas, as the president, this is also a worrying thing. ”

Bai Nan shook his head and said: "Even in our era, the first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou were international metropolises, but in the deep mountains and old forests, there are people who maintain primitive ways of survival, and there is no way to do it." As long as we accelerate the development and progress of our country, soon the roads and railways will be able to reach the interior, and then the cities will be connected together, and they will naturally be able to enjoy a more modern lifestyle. ”

Zhao Daling naturally understands these things, Datang needs inland colonies, if it is said that because there is no reinforced concrete in the interior, there are no electric lights and telephones, it would be arrogant and ridiculous not to colonize there for a long time. All the colonial countries, immigrants are taking great risks to open up new living spaces, or at least they believe that the place they arrive will be a new and better home.

In fact, the Tang immigrants who joined the colony also thought like this, they were all born in poverty, and they couldn't get along in their hometown before they went abroad, because they were originally people in feudal society and had limited knowledge, so for them, owning their own land, owning a mother-in-law, owning houses and property, then it was already a very wonderful thing. A metropolis like Los Angeles is even stranger to them, and perhaps it is not as friendly as the more rural and barbaric Luanzhou Source State. (To be continued......)