It has been half a year since the construction of the southern extension of the coastal railway began, and the construction along the way has suffered all kinds of difficulties, harassment and attacks, which has seriously slowed down the construction progress, and only 71% of the 82-kilometer-long railway foundation from Sydney to Wollongong has been built, and more than 100 railway culverts and bridges along the way have been completed less than half of the time, and 27 construction teams have been attacked, with more than 110 dead and injured people.

Due to the characteristics of railway construction, there are many points, long lines, and wide areas, and the construction teams along the planned railway line are vulnerable to attack.

In the area where the railway passes, it is common to encounter arid riverbeds, streams, geological loose zones, busy traffic forks and cattle and sheep migration channels, these places must raise the foundation, adopt various construction methods such as bridges and culverts, cross the arid riverbed and seasonal streams, and form a three-dimensional traffic pattern, so as not to affect the long-term stable operation of the railway line.

In particular, Australia's unique cattle and sheep migration routes, every year during the shearing season and livestock trade, hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep are driven by their owners to the wool purchase station and local trading market, and it is necessary to leave enough passage for the sheep to pass by, these facilities are generally railway bridges and culverts.

Relatively

The construction requirements of reinforced concrete structure bridge culvert are much higher than that of ordinary roadbed, and the process complexity and construction period are also much higher than the latter, especially for large bridges with high requirements, and the tunnel construction period is 2~3 years or even longer, so the construction is often started after the construction project is started.

The area from Sydney to Wollongong is plain and hilly, the water flows vertically and horizontally, and the railway line needs to build various bridges and culverts as many as 177, which require dozens of construction teams to work separately, ranging from twenty or thirty to three or five hundred people, scattered along the 82-kilometer-long railway line, which has become the best target for the local horse bandits.

Faced with a severe and complex situation

The 1,500-strong cavalry team practiced the strategy of guarding in sections, patrolling at a key point, and taking the initiative to attack, defeating and exterminating as many as 40 horse bandits, killing and wounding more than 240 people, and hanging 37 backbone horse bandits who had done many evils, thus effectively deterring the white ultra-right-wing forces who were ready to move along the way.

In the process of advancing southward on the coastal railway, it was a battle of iron and blood, a process of breakthrough and conquest.

In light of this

Red Fort vigorously implemented the policy of "railway advancement, immigration follow-up, and landing roots", and built two small towns between Sydney and Wollongong, one called "Rock Town" and the other called "Snow Mountain Town", on the basis of which the development of Chinese immigration areas, concentrated residence, and the development of armed militia forces to undertake daily patrols and guards, to solve the serious security problem of longer and longer railway lines.

The front was repeatedly swept and cleared by the "railway cavalry", and the rear was mainly guarded by militia forces.

This was followed by large-scale investment infiltration, the connection of cable and telegraph networks, the establishment of reclamation areas, the establishment of local wool purchasing stations, leather processing factories, meat processing factories, mills, oil mills and other enterprises, to help Chinese immigrants take root and thrive in the wind and rain.

The Hongshan Iron & Steel Complex's large-scale investment in Wollongong is an important measure in this unstoppable wave of southward advance, which has led a large number of Chinese immigrants to Wollongong and rapidly changed the local demographic structure and social situation.

Advance forcefully in collisions and conflicts, seek development in fierce confrontations, and promote social transformation with a powerful force that borders on brutality.

The owner of the Red Fort knows very well;

For racial, historical, religious, and other reasons, it is practically impossible to try to assimilate the whites who occupy the dominant group of society by moderate means.

England had ruled Scotland and Ireland for hundreds of years, and there was still a deep estrangement between them, and the Irish struggle for independence never stopped, even under the strong pressure of the Victorian era.

The British, who are good at conspiratory, can't do it, and the owner of the Red Keep has no extravagant hope to do better, and the method he takes is simple; Mix sand, desperately mix sand.

In the progress of the railway project, a strong wave of immigrants was activated, and the other side was flooded with a flood of immigrants......

New South Wales is a traditional white area, has a history of more than 100 years of reclamation, from Sydney to the south, it has entered the traditional white conservative power dense distribution area, where there are countless large and small pastures, there are many uneducated white cowboys, rough and troublesome, drinking too much alcohol there is nothing to dare to do, can not resist deliberate incitement.

Why are there so many horse bandits in the construction of railways?

Many of the cowboys were instigated in the local taverns, and after a few glasses of horse urine, the rough cowboys rushed out with guns in a fit of deliberate instigation.

Horses are readily available, guns are also readily available, and rushing to the railway construction site to smash and rob them has become the bragged capital of many simple-minded Australian cowboys, thus driving more people to follow suit.

Outside of Wollongong

A cavalry team of more than 300 people quickly swept across the plain and stopped beside a clear stream, Duan Qirui wore a traditional Australian wide-brimmed hat on his head, his eyes swept over this magnificent and beautiful field, and sighed slightly in his heart.

The topography of Wollongong is unique, with the east on a narrow coastal plain on the Pacific side and a steep sandstone cliff to the west, known as the Illawarra Cliffs.

To the south of the coast is a vast plain, and the city of Wollongong is located in the middle of the coast and has a beautiful nickname called "Wollongong".

Along the blue are steep cliffs ranging in height from 150 to 750 meters, with a steep and strange cliff against the blue sky and white clouds, and the scenery along the coastline is magnificent and breathtaking.

Most of the mountains here are between five or six hundred meters to seven or eight hundred meters, containing thick coal seams, the earliest coal mining history dates back to 1797, and it is an important export resource for the region, so there are some white towns scattered in the coal mining area, and it is also a relatively densely populated area.

Founded in 1834, Wollongong has been mining for 92 years, predating the town of 37 Sim, and is one of the oldest coal mining areas in New South Wales.

Duan Qirui is now the deputy commander of the road protection cavalry team and the captain of the second brigade, with a total of more than 500 cavalry under his command, and this trip is carrying out a tricky task...... Helped the representatives of the Hongshan Iron and Steel Complex to obtain the ownership of the acquired coal mine.

The mines are concentrated in the traditional coal-mining area of Ilawarra, where white miners, at the instigation of well-intentioned people, blocked the exit to and from the town, deniing entry to anyone from the Red Mountain United Iron and Steel Enterprise, greeted only by the scorching bullets.

In this case

The Iron (Guard) Road Cavalry had to intervene forcefully and forcibly break the blockade by force.

"All the cavalry dismount and rest for a while." Duan Qirui raised his arm high and gave the order.

Order

The young cavalrymen cheered and rushed into the sky, dismounted by the stream, led their beloved horses to drink water by the stream, gnawed on the tender grass, and then took out soybean meal from the horse bag and fed it to the mounts, and took time to drink a little water and eat some dry food to pad their stomachs.

Duan Qirui, as a commander, of course, did not need to feed his own horses, and after his mount was held by his men, he came to sit on a raised rock by the stream, and the guard and orderly brought a kettle. I opened it and took a sip, but the coffee inside was still warm.

As a very self-motivated officer, Duan Qirui is not willing to stay in the Longmen garrison area and wait for death, he is only 26 years old this year, far from the age of comfortable retirement, so he applied to be transferred to the road guard cavalry team.

On the surface, he took off his military uniform, but in fact he was still the deputy regiment commander, a lieutenant colonel, and an officer.

"Chief Duan, this time the matter is not simple, I'm afraid of big trouble." Wollongong Police Station Senior Inspector Myers came over and sat down, worriedly handed over the kettle in his hand and said; "Take a sip, good Scotch whisky."

Duan Qirui took it and poured it, feeling the spicy liquor from his throat straight into his stomach, he spit out the wine in a big gulp, and he could feel the rich oak fragrance in his mouth, and couldn't help but say, "Wow...... Good wine".

Myers took the kettle with a wry smile, raised his head and took a big sip, calming down the spicy taste and saying; "Chief Duan, you have not been here for a long time, I am afraid you don't know how powerful these coal miners are, they are very hostile to outsiders, conservative and stubborn, even our police officers will be attacked with malicious words when they enter Illawarra Town, and even black guns will be shot."

"I know it's difficult, but the task has to be carried out."

"That's right, so this could break out into a battle, and we're here ......" Myers looked at the cavalrymen around him, his eyes swept over the 60mm field gun disassembly pieces and heavy machine guns carried by pack horses in the distance, and continued timidly;" The number is a little small, you must know that the miners in the vicinity have gathered together, there may be three or four thousand people, and everyone has guns. ”

"War or peace, how to choose depends on them, we can only do according to the orders of the superiors, the coal mine must be fully taken over by the Hongshan Iron and Steel Complex, the sacred property rights cannot be defiled, all those who try to occupy the coal mine to resist this process can be suppressed as rioters, we have no choice." Duan Qirui's tone was not high, but it was very firm.

"That'...... We have too few people. ”

Sergeant Myers poured another sip of whiskey in frustration, and there was nothing he could do in the face of this situation, although the coal miner was troublesome, but as a police officer, he could not disobey the orders of his superiors and turn a blind eye.

He was a policeman, and those coal miners were thugs, and the two sides had different positions.

Sergeant Myers is not unwilling to suppress these coal miners, but is worried that the side is not strong, you must know that those coal miners are hard bones, the police repeatedly hit the nail and returned, mentioning the name of the place is a bit psychological.

Many of these coal miners are of white Irish descent, while Sheriff Myers is of white French descent, and the two sides can't pee in the same pot at all, they don't fit in with each other, and there is no idea of covering for them.

"Rest assured, Myers, our first thing on this trip is to ensure our own safety, and it is best to disperse the troublesome coal miners, prevent them from gathering and rioting, and control the channels for malicious fear to spread, including but not limited to the closure of the local town tavern, of course, this is only temporary, and I hope the situation does not deteriorate to the point where it is difficult to control." Duan Qirui comforted the other party with good words, raised his deep eyes and looked ahead, revealing a trace of inexplicable brilliance and said; "If it's really stubborn...... We can mobilize more troops to encircle and suppress, and hopefully not go to that point. ”

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