"Oh, plowing ox is a big problem!" Marin sighed deeply when he stopped writing the plan.
There is no shortage of population in the Philippines. Not to mention the 10,000 or 20,000 Chinese immigrants, even the indigenous people, it is estimated that there will be 560,000. Most of them are concentrated on Luzon Island. At that time, as long as the indigenous soldiers of Taiwan are dispatched to use exquisite weapons and armor, it will be easy to capture them.
But some people are useless. They have to rely on cattle to plow the land. Even if people can plow the land, how many farmers can really endure hardships? Even if the Chinese farmers who are the most able to endure hardships, if a family does not have oxen, they will only weigh more than ten acres of land. No matter how many, people will not be able to bear it.
In tropical rainforest areas, not only do they need oxen, but also buffaloes...
If you only need cattle, it will be too easy for Marin. Go to Eastern Europe to buy it! Nowadays, the Crimean Khanate has been tempted by Marin to become a professional cattle raising country, and can supply tens of thousands of cattle every year. At the same time, on the Ukrainian prairie, which is currently affiliated with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, locals also raise cattle and sheep on a large scale, and can also provide tens of thousands of cattle every year.
But unfortunately, these cattle are scalpers, which are not resistant to heat and humidity, cannot adapt to the climate of tropical rainforests, and cannot cultivate paddy fields...
Therefore, what Marin lacks now is not ordinary oxen, but buffaloes that can adapt to the climate of tropical rainforests and cultivate paddy fields. Or, the Indian oxen oxen.
However, it is very difficult to obtain buffalo or Indian tummy cattle. Buffalo is relatively scarce. East and Southeast Asia are affected by the Chinese agricultural civilization, and most of the buffaloes have been captured and domesticated by locals. Only overseas islands such as Minduluo Island, which are full of miasma and prone to malaria, have large-scale bisons.
As for Indian tummy cattle, if they grow a little white, they are nothing more than a holy cow from India. They cannot be moved easily, and it is even more impossible to buy them. Therefore, Marin could only find a way to buy or exchange Persian cows with a hair color that is not white, and it is quite troublesome. Marin guessed that even if things can be done, it would be very scary that he could get thousands of tummy cattle from India every year. Moreover, it is estimated that it is still a few thousand smaller, not a few thousand larger.
How to get a large number of cattle suitable for tropical areas? Marinth thought about it...
He thought of Madagascar, which was later called the "Kows Kingdom". However, according to reports from spies passing by Madagascar, the local cattle were indeed numb cattle. However, the number seemed to be not very large. At least, there were not many along the coast.
In fact, there were not many cattle in Madagascar at this time, but the main part was not on the coast. In this era, the prototype of the country appeared mainly in the central plateau and the southeast coastal areas. The development of agriculture was mostly in the central plateau and the plains on the southeast coast.
However, when Marin passed the Strait of Madagascar, he reconnaissed the west and northern coasts of Madagascar. He did not go to the southeast coast to check, nor did he have the conditions to go to the inland mountains to reconnaissance. Therefore, Marin did not know that there were already many cattle in the central plateau area of ​​Madagascar at this time.
Madagascars have Indonesian ancestry, and their ancestors were probably drifted by Indonesians in canoes. Combined with African natives, they formed a Madagascar nation with a not-too-dark complexion.
The tummy cattle on the island was probably brought by Arab merchants from India. After all, Arab merchants traveled to India very early, so it was normal for them to get some tummy cattle. Moreover, the Arab merchants also brought Indian rice.
However, this island of Madagascar is a tropical island. The northern coast is relatively humid and hot, and the environment is not very good. The western coast is not only hot, but also a little drought.
Only the middle part of the island and the southeast coastal part have a better climate. After all, the middle part is a plateau with a cooler climate. The southeast coastal part is a bit higher because of its higher latitude and is more suitable for survival.
In later generations, Madagascar was known as the kingdom of cattle. On average, every two people had one cow, with a total number of more than 12 million, which was very scary.
But in this era, the western coast of Madagascar was basically not developed, and the northern coastal level was relatively low. Therefore, the number of cattle seems to be small. However, the inland plateau areas have a cool and pleasant climate, a large population, and a large scale of cattle breeding, which is estimated to be hundreds of thousands of tumor cattle.
However, Marin didn't know. After all, his fleet could only dock on the west and northern coasts of Madagascar, not knowing the situation inland.
Without knowing it, Marin had only one choice left - the buffalo in West Africa!
Specifically, it is to introduce West African buffalo from the Mali Empire and the Sanhai Empire in West Africa to farm in tropical areas.
Cattle in West Africa are domesticated from African buffaloes. They are smaller than Asian buffaloes, but they are very suitable for the climate in tropical regions. Although the north is a desert area, the south is still very humid. Cattle in West Africa are domesticated from buffaloes, so local cattle are very suitable for the service of tropical regions.
Once, Marin bought many local cows from West Africa through the Portuguese. However, the price was very high. There was no way. At that time, we happened to encounter the situation where grassland cows in Eastern Europe died of heat due to their inability to adapt to the Cuban climate. Marin could only buy African cows from Portuguese at a high price.
Now, the Ayuen colony under Marin has established a solid trade relationship with the Sanghai Empire. It is still easy to buy cattle from the Sanghai Empire. But what is not easy is how to transport the purchased cattle...
You should know that the trade route between the Ayuen colony and the Sanghai Empire was the Sahara well route in later Algeria. There is no problem with taking camels, but buffaloes... The problem is very, very big...
Camels must adapt to this Sahara Desert route. If people wear white robe and water bags, they can naturally survive. But buffaloes cannot get through. After all, buffaloes like water and are afraid of dryness and are not adapted to the tropical desert climate. In addition, African buffaloes are black in color and absorb the sun very much... Black cows cross the Sahara Desert and are easily thirsty due to the scorching sun...
So, what Marin is most worried about now is how to transport the African cattle purchased from the Sanghai Empire to the beach...
The Sanghai Empire obviously has no shortage of cows. In the war between Moroccan mercenaries at the end of the 16th century, the Sanghai Empire wanted to use 1,000 cows as a vanguard to attack the Moroccan front, which was a bit similar to the "fire bull formation". But the Sanghai people did not expect that there was a musketeer on the opposite side. As soon as the musket sounded, these cows actually ran back in fear and stormed their own front...
This can also prove from the indirect evidence that the Sanghai Empire had many cattle. If you fight a random war, you can drive 1,000 cattle to be cannon fodder...
However, the Sanghai Empire is not by the sea. Its transit is mainly in the territory of Niger in later generations, a landlocked country. The Sanghai Empire is also separated from the declining Mali Empire...
The Mali Empire and the Sanghai Empire are mortal enemies. After all, the Sanghai Empire was established by defeating the Mali Empire and robbing Timbuktu, and the two families were mortal enemies. Even if you could buy enough African buffaloes from the Sanghai Empire, the Mali Empire would not let it go. What's more, the climate there is also very complex. Especially the tropical rainforests in Guinea are very difficult to walk, and the forests are very dangerous...
Chapter completed!