Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 41 Colonial Era
April 1626, 5, sunny.

Since the end of spring plowing half a month ago, the wheel kiln brick factory, which concentrated most of the manpower of Shixing Fort, began to burn bricks day and night, providing a steady supply of building materials for the large-scale infrastructure projects of the entire camp.

The foundations of two long, connected granaries have been laid, and construction of the four outer walls has begun.

Several guest architects, relying on a few ropes and tape measures, constantly measured and corrected the walls to ensure that the two "large" buildings would not tilt or collapse, becoming shameful shoddy projects.

It was noon at this time. Although the sun was not too scorching, the high-intensity work still made everyone sweat profusely and look exhausted.

The more than 150 people in Shixing Fort are like a group of hardworking ants, building their home bit by bit, almost without stopping for a moment.

Although everyone was very tired, they all knew that if they did not speed up construction during the slack season, there would be no extra time for large-scale construction projects during the summer and autumn harvest seasons.

Winter in Shixing Fort always comes early, with temperatures dropping rapidly in mid-to-late October.

When the first heavy snow falls, many outdoor projects will have to be temporarily stopped until next spring.

"Today is the May Day holiday, why don't we take a few days off?" Mo Tianhai complained as he carried bricks. "A few days ago, I just finished the spring sowing in the fields, and before I could even take a break, I've been working day and night carrying bricks, building projects, and building houses. I've become like a beast of burden."

"May Day? There's no Labor Day now, let alone paid holidays. What? Can't stand it?" Wei Zhonglong pushed a simple version of a chicken bus and brought a pile of bricks over.

"We are naval cadets who have undergone more than three years of training, not construction workers like we are now."

"Where are the warships you can sail? Just accept your fate! We must truly become the bricks of the revolution, moving wherever we are needed. Furthermore, we must be filled with an optimistic revolutionary spirit in our work, fearless of hardship and fatigue, and carry forward the spirit of hard work and self-reliance!"

"Damn it! ...Your high consciousness is simply ashamed to death!"

"That's right!" Wei Zhonglong quickly unloaded the bricks from the chicken bus, then waved his hand and patted the dust off his body. "The ancients said, 'When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on a man, it will first test his mind and will, exhaust his muscles and bones, starve his body, deprive him of all poverty, and make his plans frustrated. This is to stimulate his heart and harden his nature, and to enable him to achieve what he could not otherwise have! '"

"Alright, alright..." Mo Tianhai was amused. "God has given me a great mission. Do you want to be the emperor in the future?"

"Who knows! In the future, when I'm strong enough, I'll ask the captain for permission to lead my troops to conquer a small country and become emperor myself!"

"Awesome!" Mo Tianhai gave a thumbs up. "From now on, you must make me the Grand Marshal of the Army!"

"You? You still want to be my Grand Marshal? ... I think the chief eunuch in the Imperial Household Department is more suitable for you!"

"If I were to become the chief eunuch, I would definitely sleep with all your concubines."

"How is that possible? Before I appoint you as the chief eunuch, I'll snap your job down there first."

"Oh my god! You're so cruel."

"Ha ha……"

"Ha ha……"

Several onlookers burst into laughter upon hearing the two's banter, inadvertently dispelling some of the fatigue. Finding joy in hardship!

"You said, if we choose a place in the south to settle down, we won't have to suffer so much." Wei Zhonglong took off the towel hanging around his neck, wiped the sweat from his forehead vigorously, then straightened up and twisted a few times.

"South? ...Are you thinking of settling in Los Angeles or San Diego?" Mo Tianhai paused, picked up his thermos from the brick pile nearby, and gulped down most of it. Wiping his lips, he smiled and said, "Then we'll be closer to the Spanish. If we're not careful, they'll find us. We might end up fighting them every day, with no peace!"

"We don't necessarily have to establish a foothold in North America. We can find a small island in the Pacific to develop." Wei Zhonglong said, "Hawaii is a good choice. It's warm like spring all year round. Oh, no, it's like summer all year round. We can just build a shack and sleep there, without having to worry about the freezing winter. Then we don't need to build a brick house."

"Live in a shack? You're thinking too much! The overwhelming mosquitoes will eat you. Without perfect medical conditions, are you sure you can survive on a tropical island?" Mo Tianhai sneered when he heard it.

"Not really?" Wei Zhonglong looked at him in astonishment. "Can people still die on a tropical island?"

"What do you think?" Mo Tianhai looked at his idiot companion. "Do you know that before our Guangdong and Guangxi regions were developed, they were typical places of smog and miasma, accompanied by various tropical diseases? Before the Tang and Song dynasties, when the emperor punished his ministers who made mistakes, he would exile them to Lingnan. That was a place of death, and you could lose your life if you were not careful. Hawaii was a global tourist destination in later generations, but at that time, it was almost undeveloped, with smog and miasma everywhere and mosquitoes everywhere. If you went there, you would definitely not survive for more than half a month."

"Oh my god! I was thinking that when our strength increases, we must first occupy this strategic location. As you said, if we don't have the necessary medical conditions, we can't occupy it yet."

"It's not that we can't occupy it." Mo Tianhai smiled, but there was a hint of malice in his eyes. "We can let the natives test the minefield first, and then after we develop and build it up to the point where it's habitable, we can go over and officially occupy the island."

"Oh, you southerners are really smart."

"Why? Are we even going to sacrifice our own lives to develop it?" Mo Tianhai said nonchalantly, "Our lives are so precious, we can't waste them on those tropical islands. I think during the winter break, we should go to Mexico again. In addition to getting some production and living supplies, we should also capture more people to work for us."

"Captured as slaves?"

"Become slaves? Tsk tsk, you're going too low, aren't you? That's called... indentured labor." Mo Tianhai said, "We'll bring some people over from Mexico, whether they're Spanish or Indians, and have them all sign long-term labor contracts, and then work on our farms. ... Well, let's say for twenty years. ... As long as they can make it, we'll give them housing and land, and make them our official employees. Oh, no, official citizens."

"Twenty years? ...I'm afraid this is slave labor. Also, what if they can't make it through twenty years?"

"If he can't make it to the age limit, then it's just bad luck. Of course, we can't let him down, so we can make their funeral more dignified."

"Xiao Mo, I think someone like you would definitely be a qualified landlord or slave owner in ancient times."

"Look at what you're saying!" Mo Tianhai, unfazed by his companion's sarcasm, replied matter-of-factly, "Do you know what era this is? ... The Age of Exploration! ... The so-called colonial era! Isn't that how Western European and American countries operated in later generations? They treated the inhabitants of the colonies like slaves, raising them like livestock and then profiting from their labor. Otherwise, do you think they all went to the colonies to alleviate poverty, that they were all pure and innocent? Did the wealth accumulated in their homes just drop from the sky?"

"You do have some truth to it. But I always feel that if the suffering our country has endured were to be inflicted on the people of other countries and regions, I would feel a little uncomfortable."

"Oh, you're acting like a saint! What was the theme of the colonial era? Plunder, exploitation, killing, and grabbing territory! Someone as compassionate as you is really not suited to this era."

"During the colonial era, besides killing and looting, couldn't we be self-reliant and develop from scratch?"

"Self-reliance and self-development are certainly not to be discarded. But necessary colonial plunder and economic exploitation are also indispensable," Mo Tianhai said leisurely. "Otherwise, without sufficient capital accumulation and vast colonial territories, rapid development, industrialization, and world domination would be harder than climbing to the sky!"

"So, if you want to develop, then follow those foreigners and colonize!"

(End of this chapter)