It is already 1656. The Yellow Sheep River (Santa Cruz River) basin has officially entered the midsummer season of the year. Deer, native camels, rats, rabbits, foxes, ostrichs, jaguars and other animals distributed on the vast semi-arid grasslands have also ushered in the hottest month of the year. Of course, the average daily temperature in this so-called hot month is only 14 degrees, which means that the temperature at noon is only 20 to 30 degrees, while the temperature at night may drop to several degrees, day and night

The large temperature difference and the small annual accumulated temperature made Yang Mingyang, who was developing in the area near the headquarters, decisively gave up unrealistic wheat cultivation and instead sought some short-term barley, rye, potato or alfalfa cultivation. Even he was considering whether to completely give up the local planting industry and make every effort to develop fisheries and animal husbandry. As for the grains needed for people's daily life, it would be better to import them from local or affiliated areas of the Southern Railway, which might be more economical and more cost-effective.

...

A sound of horse hooves broke the quiet morning in the mountains. Although Yang Mingyang, who had been the captain of the cavalry corps in the Far East for many years, was over fifty years old, his horse galloping still looked very agile. In the operation to destroy an Indian tribe, he personally rushed and obtained the first-level beheading results, which made some young soldiers who failed to capture them ashamed.

"Hold it!" Yang Mingyang turned over and got off the horse, threw the whip to the guard behind him, then quickly walked to the Huangyang River, scooped up a handful of clear river water and washed his face. After washing, he wiped the blood on the cowhide boots with a towel, and then turned around and said to everyone, "Let's rest, the guards are assigned, don't make any mistakes."

The knights behind them agreed, then turned over and dismounted, and dispatched their work according to their respective responsibilities, everything was in order. The total number of 70 or 80 cavalrymen came from the local area, with complex composition: there were members of the Shandong Mule Army, some local thieves from the Yuyuan Army, and veterans from Polish prisoners of war. Of course, the newly recruited new generation of people from the East Coast who could ride horses were mostly from Qiuyi Township, Yangma Township and other places in Meilin County.

These people have been following Yang Mingyang for several days. They followed an native tribe who had attacked the East Coast people, and placed this migrating tribe nearly 100 kilometers deep into the upper reaches of the Yellow Coast River. The next one was a bloody encounter. Although this Indian tribe was fierce and arduous, they had no choice but to make a living by hunting. They were defeated quickly under the rush of hundreds of East Coast cavalrymen and eventually became another group of unlucky people in this world of savagery. Of course, the East Coast people were not killed. They sent fifty or sixty cavalrymen to stay on the scene, supervising the terrified men, women, young and old, who had been killed, slowly heading to the east coast settlement at the mouth of the Yellow Coast River. Next, they will be collectively exiled to New China or Australia. Starting their new life there is also their only way out.

The lower reaches of the Yellow Sheep River can be navigated, but the water flow is relatively turbulent, and sailing boats are completely impossible (when people later visited this place, the boats could only move forward by pulling fibers). However, for the 72-ton steamer that is popular on the mainland of the East Coast, it is not a problem at all. This inland boat with a low draft can easily sail far upstream, which means that people on the East Coast can go deep into the inland areas of Patagonia at a lower cost. When Darwin and others went deep into the Santa Cruz River in the 19th century, they took three whaling ships to a place 140 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and 60 miles from the nearest Pacific Bay. They gave up on moving forward because the water flow was too fast (the flow rate reached 10 nautical miles per hour) and the surrounding environment was too desolate (which means there was not much value for investigation).

In fact, their location was quite close to the Argentine Lake, the source of the river. However, according to the experiences of Darwin and others at that time, a river flow rate of up to 10 knots was indeed a big problem (the water volume of the Santa Cruz River is extremely abundant). In later Argentine ships with non-heavy horsepower were simply impossible to go upstream (and are still extremely dangerous). If people on the east coast want to drive directly to the Argentine Lake area with small inland steamers, they may have to send dredgers to dredge the river channel, while sending dredgers to design a ship with a still-water speed of at least 12 knots, otherwise they should just build roads or railways honestly.

The Yellow Sheep River is covered with step-like highlands, and the ground is covered with weeds and prickly shrubs, which makes Yang Mingyang very stumble. The highlands on both sides of the river mean that it is impossible to effectively use water sources to irrigate arable land, and if the vegetation is mainly low and prickly shrubs, it is not suitable for large-scale raising cattle. Only those animals that can find twigs and buds under the bushes can eat are sheep.

"It seems that we can only do animal husbandry, and we can only raise sheep if we die." Yang Mingyang looked at the surging river water that was light blue, with a large amount of milky white water foam on the surface. This means that the flow rate is extremely fast and depressed: "Just like most rivers in Patagonia, the Yellow Sheep River also travels through the cliffs made of basalt, high hills, and deep valleys between hills, which means that most areas on both sides of the river cannot be used, which is too difficult for water lifting and irrigation. This area is only suitable for grazing, which is a pity. There is no shortage of water here, which is really a pity!"

The plateau outside the valley is full of weeds and shrubs growing in volcanic fields, and the density is not low. These plants are mostly brown or yellow even in summer, which is intertwined with the surrounding environment, making people feel monotonous and boring at first glance. However, there are quite a lot of animals here, including carnivorous foxes, jackals, and lions. There are also some vultures and rock parrots living on the cliffs on both sides of the river. Occasionally, there are ostrich, native camels or deer sheds coming to lick rock salt in the "Marlin" (that is, ancient riverbeds, which are generally wet) and there are ostrich, camels or deer herds coming to lick rock salt.

"No wonder we can support so many natives who are born by hunting!" Yang Mingyang thought to himself. Although he didn't know which race the Indian tribe he defeated this time should be classified as. Although they are strong and tall, they are obviously not as tall as the Patagonians, but they are taller than the nomadic Tverches in the north, and their lifestyles are also different. But he estimated that in the entire Patagonian region, the total population of the scattered native tribes is only tens of thousands, which is not worth mentioning in the eyes of the East Coast people armed to the teeth. As long as they are willing, it will take a minute to wipe them out, but there is no need for this for the time being.

"After returning, I talked to the people from the Northwest Reclamation Bank and asked them to send the sheep down as soon as possible. After the first batch of 500 people landed, 1,500 fresh blood came one after another. They always asked them to repair houses, dig ditches, build reservoirs, and start factories. It is not a big deal. It is better to bring the sheep over early, and then divide their own grasslands and have their own business as soon as possible." Yang Mingyang wiped the blood-stained saber with a white cloth wiping the port of blood, while thinking about things: "It has been a while since the opening of the port on the shopping mall port. I heard that the business is still sloppy. There are many La Plata merchants who came to sell cattle, sheep, horses, donkeys, camels and other livestock, and the transaction volume is also increasing. The 32,000 sheep I bought last time, I assigned it to Chubu.

After all, the conditions there are better. This time, it has been a while since I guess I have bought a lot of sheep. I have to find a way to urge the people from the Northwest Reclamation Bank to complete the procedures early to lend to the farmers. It is estimated that the transportation capacity is not too sufficient. It only costs tens of thousands of sheep to buy at most tens of millions of sheep. It is not very expensive, but the shipping fee is really not cheap. If you use your own shipping capacity, it is really depressing to think about it. In addition, the breeding station of the Ministry of Agriculture in Ranch Township also needs to send people to urge them to send some of the sheepdogs they have cultivated. Otherwise, it would be troublesome to just rely on people to release these sheepdogs. Of course, the sheep are still small now, and it is not very urgent in a short period of time..."

After resting, everyone ate some dry food in broth (dry beef that had been stored for a long time), then turned over and drove towards Huangyang Port along the platform on the north bank of the river. At this moment, the sun was scorching, but it was not very hot, and the air was so clear that it was a mess. Everyone sang the battle song of victory and returned to the settlement, and soon returned to the settlement. They halfway through the turbulent river in batches, in a place called Ximendu on the north bank of the Yellow River (located in the town of Karadman, more than 30 kilometers upstream of the port of Santa Cruz, and also a place to set up a settlement) and crossed the surging river in batches and was warmly welcomed by the left-behind residents.

There was also a sailboat on the dock of Huangyang Port stranded on the river waiting to be unloaded (because the dock has not been completely completed, the unloading can only catch the few hours of the ship being stranded). Among them are all kinds of supplies, some camels, and there are five hundred female Saccaravas sent from New China Island. Most of these Saccaravas were captured during the process of Xiao Baitu's army's pursuit and suppression. They were generally between 15 and 35 years old, and many were even the so-called "precious girls" of the Kingdom of Monaber. This time they were packed together to Patagonia, which could be said to be a bird that can't shit. These women were probably mostly disappointed.
Chapter completed!