In the world of 1885, no one thought that the Sultan of East Africa belonged to the Osman Empire. From Sudan's borders with Egypt and French East Africa to the south, millions of square kilometers of land were covered with China's national flags. The Fourteen Counties of East Africa were truly under the control of China. One of the most important ports in this vast land was Port Sudan.
Port Sudan was on the west side of the Red Sea. It was a completely man-made port. When China opened up this wilderness, the whole world thought that the Chinese had gone crazy. There was no water source or arable land here, only the reddish-yellow rocks unique to the two shores of the Red Sea. There was no value in opening up such a large piece of barren land.
In the past few years, there had been very few explosions in Port Sudan. The period of using gunpowder to blast rocks had passed, and the period of construction had begun. The Sudan port area was located on a slope, and several irrigation stations were set up on the cliff a little distance from the port area. Water from the Red Sea was pumped from several clean water sources to the top of the cliff. This was a comprehensive processing plant that covered an area of nearly ten square kilometers.
The average annual temperature in Port Sudan was 29 degrees Celsius, and the highest temperature could reach 50 degrees Celsius. China made full use of this natural endowment. High temperatures and salts were extremely corrosive to metal components. China made full use of gravity, corrosion-resistant glass, ceramics, and the local rocks of the Red Sea. After nearly ten years of hard work, the entire comprehensive treatment plant had cleverly combined the collection of sun-dried salt and distilled water. More than 4,000 tons of distilled water a day could probably meet the basic needs of the port.
However, this was not all. These comprehensive processing plants also provided better products. Xiao Bailang was from Zigong, Sichuan. His ancestor's industry was salt boiling. After Sichuan was liberated, the government bombed Yan Xiong. Dizzy? Yong 1 Ugh, blowing thumb pan? Benzi You Chop Glutinous Rice Kao? Song? Hum hum? Xi? Thumbs are making trouble for me, Di Xu? Dripping and dripping with rain, the maid penetrates to cut, forgive me P, what is the waving of the table Xingshuo? Buy??? Fat? Toad Cuo Zhao Mercenary Is Unlucky? Resentful Coins Shine?
He directed the black workers to pour a large amount of the juice from the ground alfalfa and soybeans into the thick salt water that had been pre-treated. Not long after, a layer of foam floated on the thick salt water that had been heated by solar energy. This was the unique method of salt production in Zigong. It used the protein in beans and calcium and magnesium plasma to produce a chemical reaction to separate them from the salt water. The local alfalfa in Sudan was extremely cheap. Selling the grass was one thing, but using it for oneself was another. After several years of experiments, Xiao Bailang made full use of alfalfa, a plant with high protein content, and used it together with local soybeans, greatly reducing the cost of salt production.
Through mechanical operation, the more refined salt water flowed into the next heating tank under the influence of gravity. After several water troughs and several processes, the final concentrated brine entered the final crystallization process. The black people of North and South Sudan could do manual labor. The slightly more technical work, including collecting salt, was done by black workers from Tanzania and Mozambique.
Xiao Bailang was an admirer of His Majesty Vézé, not only because of the policies carried out by His Majesty Vézé, but also because without His Majesty Vézé, Xiao Bailang could not go to junior high school or technical school in any case. For example, in the use of workers, the black people of Tanzania and Mozambique were docile and obedient. As long as the supervision was in place, they were willing to work honestly. In this respect, Sudan, which was also black, could not do it. It was no longer a tragedy to let those guys enter the factory, but a nightmare.
Xiao Bailang once encountered a local black worker peeing into a pool of salt water out of God knows what kind of thoughts and impulses. The Chinese came here to make money. For example, Xiao Bailang, the workshop director, earned sixty to seventy thousand yuan a year. Like other workshop directors, he had already remitted 300,000 yuan back to China. Sudan's salt fields produced the famous "Poseidon" brand refined salt in the entire Indian Ocean region and even the entire Mediterranean region. Although he did not have the "consciousness" of treating the factory as his home, Xiao Bailang, the workshop director, would never allow such a shameful thing to happen.
Unfortunately, the black worker was immediately arrested and was beaten 20 times in front of other workers. After emphasizing the discipline to other workers, he was driven back to the tribe to raise cattle. From then on, there was a new regulation in the factory: "You are not allowed to pee into the salt pool. Anyone who violates this rule will be beaten 20 times and fired!"
But this group of black people from Tanzania and Mozambique did not have this problem. God knew how the local unit brought them here. When these people first came here, they were all afraid. But after training and communication, they could smoothly undertake the work of qualified able-bodied men. After a few years, the smarter ones among this group of people could even speak extremely clumsy Chinese language, and their salary had reached more than 500 yuan.
At the end of every month, Xiao Bailang, the workshop director, wanted to return to China the next month no matter what. But when he got the check in his hand and looked at the four-digit number with three zeros, he sighed. He felt that he had to earn another month's money while he was still young. In any case, he could not get such a salary in China. God knew why the white people, black people, and Indians in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea were so stupid that the salt they produced could not compare with the "Poseidon" brand salt. The salt boiling technology in Zigong, China, had an indescribable subtle harmony with the local seawater, soybeans, and alfalfa. The salt was not only exquisite, but also had a mellow salty taste. The price was also extremely low. Even if they could not say that they made a lot of money every day and a lot of money at night, compared with China, the technical staff of the salt works in China had also received a large share of the local income.
Salt and distilled water were just the beginning in the entire Port Sudan. The distilled water entered the port area through the water pipeline. In addition to being sold, salt was also used to preserve meat in the slaughterhouse. The alfalfa in the Nile River Basin raised a large number of cattle. The cattle skin, tendons, horns, hooves, and the stones found after the "dissection" of the cattle with stone disease were naturally transported back to China with the alfalfa. In addition to eating the beef locally, the rest was shipped to the Mediterranean Sea by frozen ship for sale.
Frozen beef was already considered "fresh beef". In the Mediterranean Sea, it could not be stored for a long time, except for selling at a high price. Among the food of civilians, the "Solomon" brand barreled beef could be stored for a long time and tasted very delicious. In particular, with the gimmick of "Pleven Fortress", it sold quite well in the cities around the Mediterranean Sea.
Thanks to the blessings of the 10th Russo-Turkish War, Pleven Fortress was famous throughout Europe. The city residents, who saw the war as a kind of excitement, also learned from the newspapers that the Osman army in this place fought one against ten and held on for two years. In the opinion of the European people, the canned beef specifically for this fortress was naturally excellent. More importantly, these barreled corned beef tasted good, could be stored for a long time, and the price was very low.
In this era of economic depression, very cheap meat was very marketable. European countries on the north coast of the Mediterranean Sea tried to impose high tariffs on this kind of beef. Therefore, there was a cross-border smuggling group specializing in smuggling "Solomon" brand corned beef. They ate this kind of travel.
The industrial era was an era of counterfeiting, but at this time, the African governor, Bi Qingshan, was in a very strange state of understanding. In the agricultural era, brands and craftsmanship were also very important. Although the focus on intellectual property was different from that of industrial exhibitions at a certain stage, the form was quite consistent. Especially for Bi Qingshan and the upper class in Africa, a large part of the millions of family wealth depended on the brand, so Sudan's beef really made its own characteristics. The taste was good, the price was low, and even the counterfeiters were beaten to a pulp.
These corned beef even flowed into Russia through the Black Sea. For example, on April 4th, the main ingredient of the "Solomon" brand corned beef appeared on the table of the Russian army's front command.
Russia's generals were eating "Solomon" brand corned beef, and the generals of the Osman Empire's front command were also eating Solomon brand corned beef. And on the Osman Empire's table, there were also canned products such as peaches, oranges, and lychees from China. There were even apple vinegar drinks produced in the northwest and western provinces of China.
Although China's navy was in a very advantageous position in the Indian Ocean, it was not the China Navy that really intervened in the war, but China's industrial products. A considerable part of the Osman Empire's cannons, rifles, and bullets came from China. The railway used by the Osman Empire to transport troops, weapons, medicine, and logistics supplies was also built by China. Their military uniforms, food, and even cigarettes were also produced in China. On the land in northern Mozambique, China's tobacco farmers opened up plantations, and the tobacco tasted mellow and sweet. Even the Osman people, who had a deep habit of hookah, liked it very much. Not to mention the daily necessities such as cooling oil and balm that were used to refresh and prevent mosquito bites. From generals to soldiers, they all carried them in their pockets.
Everything produced in China was not expensive.
China had not shown interest in the use of force for several years, so the Osman Empire and Russia had put the possibility of China sending troops into consideration in the later battles. Russia's idea was to completely block the communication between Azerbaijan and the Osman Empire, and it was best to continue south. Because they could not come up with a means to capture the Priwen Fortress, Russia was still discussing sending troops in Europe. In fact, Russia had plans to raid the four corners of the Danube and send a surprise troop to raid the Balkan Pass. But the Russians got the news that the Marshal of the Osman Empire, the Osman Pasha, who was known as "Iron Wall Nuri"? Nuri Pasha did not go to the Caucasus front, but personally went to the European area to strengthen the defense.
The old opponent that Russia feared did not appear on the Caucasus front, and the Russians were naturally relieved. But "Iron Wall Nuri" was in charge of the European area, and the possibility of Russia staging a two-front attack was reduced to almost zero.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
