Chapter 35 Cows and Horses

One month ago, April 22, 1866, Dar es Salaam Port.

Today, the immigrants from the first town and the colonial governor came to the port of Dar es Salaam to pick up the goods. Unlike in the past, more people were dispatched today.

"Old Qian, why did Mr. Kilman call us here today? They usually come to this place by themselves." asked an immigrant.

"How would I know? Just follow what the officer tells us. There's so much nonsense." Lao Qian said.

"Aren't I scared? It's hard to have enough food in the first town. What if we are sent back to the Qing Dynasty again!"

"Stop thinking nonsense. Mr. Kilman also wants us to grow crops for them. The land here is so barren, and the natives are clumsy and can't even farm. Mr. Kilman can't do it himself. Come on! So what are you afraid of?"

The two people were chatting when they saw several large ships appearing on the sea level in the distance.

"Looking at this situation, they can't be new immigrants! We were brought here by that big ship last time."

Lao Qian shook his head: "Who knows, we'll know when the ship arrives."

After a while, the Dutch merchant ship docked at the pier of Dar es Salaam Port. The Dutch opened the fence beside the ship, laid wooden planks, and an unloading channel several meters wide appeared.

The German commander began to direct the immigrants to board the ship and unload the cargo. Following the leadership of the commander, the immigrants once again boarded the familiar ship, where the immigrants finally saw the cargo this time.

"This is a horse, this is a cow!" The person who was talking to Lao Qian just now said in surprise.

"Is that what I'm saying? Such good land should be used to raise livestock. The grass near the first town grows so well, but these indigenous people don't know how to plant it or raise livestock."

Lao Qian said disgustedly: "The more you say it, the more outrageous it becomes. Why are you still scolding me? That's called an animal."

"It's all the same, it's all the same. I can't say anything nice. Isn't it uneducated? Haha..." He smiled awkwardly.

"Stop laughing, why don't you come and help us drive the animals!"

…

After a lot of work, the cattle and horses were finally driven off the boat. The immigrants in the first town began to drive the cattle and horses towards the first town.

The German commander seemed to be well prepared. He took a saddle and bridle from somewhere and put it on a horse.

As a veteran European cavalryman, Del finally found the feeling of riding on the battlefield this time.

He drove the horse imported from Russia to try out his skills in the open field. The horse was quite docile and carried Del for two laps on the flat ground.

In recent days, because Prussia is preparing for war, Prussian mules and horses have been controlled, and exports are even less possible.

So Ernst specially imported hundreds of horses from Russia. Horse farming is popular in Europe, so there are many horses in various countries. The Eastern European part of Russia is already rich in horses, and it also has vast grasslands in Central Asia and the Far East. Raise horses.

Ernst sent people to Russia to purchase horses, and then set off from the Baltic Sea and sent them to the East African colonies via Dutch merchant ships. He also pulled a group of cattle while passing through the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is a big country in animal husbandry. Animal husbandry is the primary agricultural industry, followed by flower cultivation.

Ernst currently has no way to improve the mechanization of the East African colonies. Currently, Europe is still using animal power. Steam agricultural machinery has some sales in the market, but steam agricultural machinery is expensive, large, and not very efficient.

So Ernst thought about starting some breeding industry in the colonies to provide some animal power for the future. There are no domesticated large livestock in Africa. The animals in Africa are very wild, and the indigenous people make a living by hunting. The animals everywhere are the food of the indigenous people. Source, although dangerous, the abundant resources make these tribes lack the consciousness to improve productivity.

…

The immigrants drove their cattle and horses back to the first town. So many animals successfully attracted the attention of the people in the town.

The chief of security began to order the immigrants to build horse pens and cattle pens, and at the same time found some experienced immigrants to be responsible for breeding.

The site of the breeding plant is five or six miles away from the town, between the first town and the third town.

There was a meadow here where immigrants set up camp and used wooden fences to drive cattle and horses in.

"They are all good cows! In the past, only landlords could raise the cows in my hometown to be so strong."

"This horse is not bad. I have seen horses ridden by high-ranking officials in my life. There is a fat-headed and big-eared official sitting on it, and his soldiers are running behind him."

"You're talking about the imperial court beating long-haired ones!"

"Yes, that's what those soldiers said. Before leaving, they robbed a few cattle from the landowner Wang's house in our village. They said they were requisitioned by the court and were more ruthless than bandits. Landowner Wang's servants can usually guard the village. There are people nearby. This bandit is called King Ermazi, and he usually doesn’t dare to go to Mr. Wang’s village, but when the soldiers from the imperial court came, his servants didn’t even dare to fart, and they usually bully us common people.”

"Bah, these are not good things. Dog bites dog and has a hairy mouth. Why doesn't God take away such a beast? It's really the sky that has no eyes!"

"Well, fortunately, the foreign master came to recruit workers the year before last. At that time, there was no way to survive, so he thought of finding a way to make a living, so he got on the ship. I couldn't even imagine the current life before!"

"Who says it isn't! My family also suffered a disaster. Both my brothers starved to death. I was lucky enough to survive until Mr. Kilman came. Without those dog officials and landlord bastards, life is better now. It’s easier, Mr. Kilman always keeps his word, he really gives you food!”

"I would say that the Qing Dynasty deserves to be destroyed. I have long heard from the village scholars that the imperial court cannot defeat the foreigners and has to cede land and pay compensation every year. These grandsons don't regard us as human beings, so someone will take care of them."

"Well, it's hard to say. Those foreigners, what kind of British chickens and French chickens have come to our land, won't the officials still enjoy the food and drink spicy food? The compensation they want will be allocated to us! I heard that the South was defeated in the war. , you have to add taxes several times, what do you call war repayments, they are like dogs, they are harmful to people!"

"This means that we no longer have a living in the Qing Dynasty, and we don't have those black-hearted officials above us. They all say that foreigners are scary. This Mr. Kilman is usually a bit more cruel, but compared to those black-hearted officials of the Qing Dynasty. The intestines are clean.”

"Oh, by the way, everything is good in Feika (Africa), the food is good, the clothes are good, but there are too few wives, and the black natives are hard to watch. There are so many of us singles who don't know if we can find a wife in this life. Son."

"I've been thinking nonsense all day long. You can't even get enough to eat in the Qing Dynasty. What kind of woman would think you'd be good enough to live a miserable life with you?"

"Aren't I thinking about important things in life? Think about it. In a few years, when we become prosperous and we can return to the Qing Dynasty, won't we be able to find a wife? If we come back then, the whole family will have a litter here. baby."

"That's impossible! Can Mr. Kilman let us go back?"

"You don't understand this! You know there is a chief from Kilman in this town. He is also a Chinese. His foreign name is Pierce Lee. He can talk to people."

"He said that he was a graduate of the Heixingen Military Academy. The land we have here belongs to the Heixingen principal. This principal is very powerful. In the Qing Dynasty, he was a relative of the emperor's family."

"I also heard that Chief Pierce Lee was spotted by Mr. Kilman at a young age and went to Kilman to study, so he was able to serve as an official here."

"That's what Chief Pierce Lee said. We are all consultant workers of Hechingen Company, that is, long-term workers. After working for twenty years, you can choose your life. When the time is up, you can stay in Feika or return to the Qing Dynasty. You make your own choice, and Chief Pierce Lee also said that we should not throw away the few pieces of paper issued to us every month. They are Kilman silver dollars issued to us, which can be exchanged for money at the Qing Dynasty's bank."

"How many pieces of paper can be exchanged for money?"

"You don't understand this! This is the money used by the foreign masters. It can be exchanged for silver in the Qing Dynasty. If the Qing Dynasty does not recognize the foreign masters, they will beat those masters. The soldiers of the British and French soldiers a few years ago I heard that they all broke into the Forbidden City and sat on the dragon's throne, and even burned down the emperor's garden, which is called the Old Summer Palace. In the end, the Queen Mother and the Emperor even paid a sum of money to the foreign master."

"If that's the case, I have to keep those pieces of paper. Mr. Kilman sent them to me before, and there was a foreigner's face printed on them. I thought it was something important and I didn't dare to throw it away. I didn't expect it to be money, but You have to put it away and use it to get a wife later."

"Old man Wang, you are already forty and still want to marry a wife? How will you look after twenty years?"

"What's wrong with marrying a wife? I've never tasted being single all my life! When you get old, find an old wife. As long as you have money, you can't find anything."

"that's right……"

The immigrants chatted about the past, present and future, with their eyes full of hope for a happy life.