Early August 1886

After more than a month of investigation, Li Fushou led the expedition team back to Seoul, and after careful consideration, preliminarily agreed to the Malawi railway plan submitted by the African General Administration.

The Malawi Rail Programme is a three-step railway construction programme;

In the first step, it is estimated that about 115,000 pounds will be invested to build a single-track railway from Qiqu Town to Lake Malawi in more than a year, with a total length of 92.6 kilometers, to realize the opening of railway transportation between Lake Malawi and the lower reaches of the Shire River, which is of great significance for promoting the economic development of Lake Malawi.

The works will use qualified rails produced by the Qiqu Town Iron and Steel Works, which are expected to be completed in July 1887, so that the construction of the Malawi Railway will commence in October 1887 and be completed by the end of 1888.

The second step, after the completion of the first step of the railway project, choose the opportunity to start the second step of the railway construction plan, along the west bank of the lake plain has been extended to the north, and finally arrive at the northernmost junction of Weiyuan Fort, the plan to build a single-track railway with a total length of 682.2 kilometers, the total investment is expected to be 725,000 pounds, along the way will be built 17 platforms, will be connected to the nearby emerging agricultural and pastoral towns.

The third step, after the completion of the second step of the Malawi railway project, the third step of the railway construction plan will be launched at the right time, which will start from the platform of Malongbehu Station, extend all the way north along the great plain on the east bank of the lake area, and finally connect several important migrant towns in the northeast, and finally arrive at the northernmost Weiyuanbao station, realizing the connection and intersection with the West Bank Railway, and jointly forming a railway network around the lake, connecting all the migrant towns together.

The budget for the third step of the railway construction plan is 885,000 pounds, and it is planned to build a single-track railway with a total length of 750 kilometers, nine platforms and two long-span continuous bridges along the way, and finally realize the connection between the railway line around Lake Malawi and the lower reaches of the Shire River and promote regional economic development.

Wu Mozhou really deserves to be good at the specialty of large projects, as the Earl's focus on the construction of Lake Malawi immigrants, he proposed the construction plan of 12 towns in the Lake Malawi area, plus the previous 24 town construction plan in the Zambezi River Basin, this guy did 36 towns, and really drew a beautiful pie.

According to the adjusted plan of the Grand Administrator;

After the arrival of Chinese immigrants in Mozambique, more than 60 percent will be enriched along the lower reaches of the Shire River, all the way to the Malawi Reservoir District, a total area of more than 370,000 square kilometers of land, plans to immigrate 1.5 million within five years, mainly to the construction of the Great Plain on the west bank of the Malawi Reservoir District (where the second railway is planned to be built), it is planned to open up a large area of arable land to grow cotton, wheat, dried fruits and rice, develop the fishing industry in the lake area, develop agriculture and animal husbandry based on cattle raising, and build this place into a land of fish and rice in the northern plateau.

The Malawi Ring Lake Railway project was based on this resettlement plan, which was the key point that impressed Li Fushou.

In particular, the first step of the railway plan is very necessary, the upper and middle reaches of the Shire River are not navigable, especially in the middle reaches of more than 80 kilometers of waterfalls, steep cliffs and large areas of wetlands, is a beautiful mountainous landform, strange rocks, the river twists and turns between the steep peaks, creating a fantastic scenery.

The construction of a 92.6-kilometer railway line connects the town of Qiqu in the lower reaches of the Shire River with the upper reaches of Lake Malombe and Lake Malawi, opening up the key nodes of the transportation of materials from the Malawi region, which is of great significance.

After the completion of the first step of the railway, it is very convenient to go to Fort Weiyuan in the Lake District of Malawi again, take a passenger ferry from Seoul City to Qiqu Town, abandon the ship here, transfer to the train to reach the lake of Malawi, and at the dock by the lake, you can change passenger ships again until you reach Fort Weiyuan, which is more than 680 kilometers away, without having to ride a horse and travel a long distance.

As for how there can be a passenger liner in the Lake Malawi area, it's pretty straightforward.

After the construction of the railway, whether it is to build small passenger ships, fishing boats or small cargo ships steel plates, engines and other materials, can be easily transported into the lake area, the area of more than 30,000 square kilometers of Lake Malawi is enough to support several small shipyards.

The Malawi region is one of the best pastures and will develop into a center for mule and horse breeding, providing a steady stream of horses and pack horses for Chinese immigrants entering the region, plowing cattle and sheep, and developing into a center of animal husbandry.

I have to admire Wu Mozhou's ability to draw big cakes, Li Fushou was deeply moved by his plan, and with a stroke of the pen, he agreed to the first phase of the Malawi railway plan, and all the required investment was spent by the treasury of the Red Fort, which did not occupy the finances of the African region.

As for Wu Mozhou's other, more ambitious Zambexi Valley Railway plan, it was unsurprisingly vetoed by Li Fushou, which required a larger amount of funds and was expected to be built in 15 years.

Now there are too many places to spend money, the development of northern Queensland and the Jinshui River basin is in full swing, Borneo is also introducing immigrants on a large scale, and Mozambican immigrants also need a lot of subsidies, just like raising a large group of children at home, even if he is called the richest farmer in the world, Li Fushou is deeply unbearable, and has to shoot many investment plans with his own hands.

The landlord's family has no surplus food!

this day

Seoul City

The Earl of Caravon from South Africa and his entourage arrived at Santa Maria Castle, and his old friend, the Earl of Queensland, held a grand banquet to welcome him, and the guests of high society gathered, and the luxurious scene was very lively.

The banquet was also attended by Governor Bernardo Fernández, General Silva, and other Portuguese nobles, who had surrendered for three weeks and were now living in Seoul as prisoners, awaiting the signing of a formal peace treaty for their release.

Now that the San Sebastian Castle on the island of Mozambique has been cleaned inside and out, and the artillery regiment and a battalion of infantry of the expeditionary force have officially moved in, and the fort battery has replaced the old bronze artillery and equipped it with hydraulic re-entry long-barreled 280 mm shore guns, 210 mm shore guns and 150 mm shore guns manufactured by Azure Arms.

The railway line for heavy armored trains is still under construction, and has been completed 6.3 kilometers, as one of the important projects of the coastal defense fortress, it is expected that the whole line will be completed 37 kilometers, connecting Hekou Town, Enzo Town and Hezhong Town, strengthening the defense at the same time, can promote the convenient circulation of materials in the area, and is greatly beneficial to economic development.

"Watching these British guys celebrate their victory with all their might, I want to pour rum on their heads, they are a bunch of robbers who have taken away the glory that belongs to the Portuguese, I hate them!." Bernardo Fernández, the former governor of Portugal, drank the wine in his hand with an unhappy face and placed it on the tray that passed by the waiter.

General Silva was dressed up for the banquet, he glanced at the British nobles not far away, and said with a lonely look in his eyes; "Your Excellency Bernardo, I am convinced that we have shown the Portuguese the most tenacious and noble qualities in the face of an invincible enemy...... No one can do it better than we do. ”

"General Silva, you'd better say these words to the big people in the Lisbon court, I hope that when I go back, I will not be greeted by rotten eggs and rotten leaves, Mr. General, we have lost Mozambique, which has occupied nearly 400 years."

"What do you think Lisbon will do to send us to the gallows in such a violent way?"

"I don't rule it out."

"Your Excellency, I don't think so, Portugal has been reduced to a second-rate player in Europe after losing its most important colony, Brazil, and now it is just losing a piece of African territory that did not belong to us, we should admit the reality, accept the defeat, think about our powerful neighbor, the Spanish Empire, you will soon see that the Spaniards will not be able to keep their Central American colonies and Cuba, and maybe Puerto Rico or Luzon, and will have to go back to Europe to lick their wounds, The world has become much more dangerous than it was in the 16th century, and we must admit that the glory of yesteryear is gone and accept this reality. ”

"You mean...... United States? Former Governor Bernardo Fernández asked thoughtfully, chewing on the meaning of General Erva's words.

"It is possible to add this one, the young and ambitious Earl of Queensland." General Silva shook his head, just in time to see the Earl of Queensland looking over, the two looked at each other, General Silva quickly smiled on his face, raised the wine glass in his hand and said; "To your generosity, Honourable Earl of Queensland, I have to say that you are as radiant as an eagle looking down on the Pyrenees."

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. General." Li Fushou raised his glass elegantly and took a sip.

General Silva hurriedly saluted, took a sip as well, and turned his head to see that the former governor Bernardo Fernández had an unkind face, so he explained in a low voice; "According to tradition, even if you are defeated, you can't lose your grace."

"Mr. General, I have to warn you that he is an infidel."

"No, would the British allow a nobleman to follow another religion?"

"What's so strange about this, Her Majesty the Queen of England wears the crown of the Queen of India at the same time, and there are dozens or hundreds of princes in the princely states of the Indian colonies, all of whom are heretics who believe in Hinduism or Islam, and they do not still get the favor of Her Majesty, and the colonial aristocracy is not so strict, and the British have never valued this, they value interests."

"Oh...... God, these damned Puritans. ”

The two quickly reached an agreement on the issue of cursing the British, and began to find fault with all kinds of things, and they chatted quite hotly.

On the other side of the grand feast

Count Canafon said politely to Gu Liuyan; "My dear countess, I am compelled to borrow for a moment to talk about some rather boring subject, and I hope to get your permission."

"Please, Lord Count."

"Thank you so much, I am very honoured to be here today for this grand banquet, it makes me feel at home, and thank you again to the Countess for her thoughtful arrangements."

"You're welcome, Your Excellency, it's as casual here as your own home." Gu Liuyan responded elegantly, then turned around and left.

She knew that men had some intimate topics to talk about, and women were not fit to be present.

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