Chapter 679 Visiting Shilu

About an hour and a half later, the train finally arrived at the terminal station, Shilu Iron Mine. Although this place is not usually open to the public and the flow of people is relatively limited, the platform of this train station is really well built, and it is not as small as that of Changhua Port.

Similar to the railway station nearby, it also has a dedicated platform for loading and unloading dry bulk cargo. After the iron ore mined from nearby mines undergoes the initial gravel and beneficiation process, it is transported here by a smaller rail car, and then

Load it into freight cars using a belt conveyor.

Before the people in the passenger compartment had finished disembarking, people behind the train had already begun to seize the time to load the cargo. Although the merchants in the visiting group had seen similar scenes when they disembarked at Changhua Port, they were still impressed by this efficient loading.

There has been a strong interest in the way of transporting goods. Most of these businessmen who can come to Qiongzhou Island to buy real estate and invest are people with relatively quick minds and high receptivity to new things. They can naturally see that equipment like this can improve the efficiency of material transportation.

How useful will it be? Someone who acted quickly has already found Gu Kai and started to inquire whether these belt conveyors are for sale and what the price is.

However, some discerning people have noticed that the security measures at this train station are much stricter than those at Changhua Port and Changhua County. There are dozens of armed and gray-clad militia soldiers standing guard on the platform alone. For those who don’t know,

You may think that this is a temporary security measure for the arrival of the visiting group, but in fact this scene is the norm in Shilu Mining Area, because most of the labor force working on the front line of mining in the mining area are from the Haihan Hard Labor Camp.

prisoner.

Since the implementation of the Shilu project, the location of the hard labor camp has been changed from Sanya to here. According to incomplete statistics, during the construction of the railway from Changhua to Shilu alone, more than 100,000 prisoners died on the road construction site.

Thousands of people, if ordinary people are hired to work on this project, I am afraid that the reputation of the Haihan Executive Committee will not be preserved. After the Shilu Iron Mine was put into operation, these prisoners were gradually transferred to the mine and continued to be driven to do heavy physical work.

labor.

There are still more than 4,000 prisoners working in the Shilu Mining Area, which is the area with the highest concentration of prisoners in the area under Haihan. As supporting security measures, it is naturally more stringent than in other places. The Army

Although there are only two companies stationed here, the establishment is based on a strengthened company, with a total strength of nearly 500 people. In addition, there are two squadrons of police officers with a total of nearly 300 people responsible for managing the prison area.

This does not include the armed forces stationed in Changhua.

Lingao, Chengmai, Ding'an and other places, which are also county-level units, currently only maintain one or two companies of troops stationed for a long time. The size of the garrison in Shilu, Changzhou is already comparable to that of a state city like Danzhou.

, and most of them are concentrated on Shilu, so the defense here is indeed significantly stronger than other places.

And this is one of the few local points that can be boasted. Qiao Zhiya lost no time in introducing it to the visiting group: "...compared to the past when all the prisoners were concentrated in Yacheng Prison and the court's expenses were used to support these prisoners.

We can now make better use of this labor force and let them work in the mining areas, transforming their minds and creating wealth at the same time. The living and production facilities here, including the nearby camps, were basically built by our command of the prisoners."

There are three main purposes for bringing the visiting group to Shilu. One is to let the visiting group see the railway line from Changhua to Shilu. The other is to let them witness the current scale of iron ore mining in Haihan and its impact on Haihan’s future.

Development can have more confidence, and the third is to show them how Haihan manages prisoners and uses them as a labor force.

"Everyone, please look, ahead is Pit No. 1 of Shilu Iron Mine!" Qiao Zhiya stopped the topic and turned to introduce the production site.

The veins of Shilu Iron Mine are shallowly buried, making it easy for open-pit mining. Therefore, the mining method here is the same as that of Tiandu Iron Mine and Heitugang Coal Mine. The huge pit is like a funnel, extending underground in steps. The bottom of the pit is densely packed.

Miners use various mining tools to crush the ore and load it into trucks. Then a steam-driven winch pulls the bucket containing the ore up along the track laid on the mine wall, and then transfers it to another track leading to the train station.

.

Qiao Zhiya continued: "More than two thousand miners work here every day. After completing the prescribed mining tasks, they can receive corresponding personal points, and the purpose of these points is to help them obtain basic living treatment, and

Remission of sentence.”

A visitor asked: "It seems that these prisoners are not all Han Chinese. Can Director Qiao tell me their origins?"

Qiao Zhiya nodded and responded: "Of course. Some of these prisoners are from prisons across Qiongzhou. Currently, the prisoners sentenced to imprisonment by the governments around the island are basically sent here to serve their sentences. In addition, there are a considerable number of prisoners from us.

The prisoners of war captured by the Haihan militia in various places are more complicated. In addition to the Han people, there are Annan people, mountain people of the Li and Miao ethnic groups, Japanese pirates, Nanyang natives, black people, red-haired people, etc.

"

"I heard that the Hai-Han and Li-Miao tribes get along very well, so why are there still prisoners of war?" someone else in the crowd asked.

Qiao Zhiya said: "We will not take the initiative to launch a war against the Li and Miao villages. More often, we will provide job opportunities and various materials they need, and teach them how to plant some high-value crops in the mountains to compete with us.

Most of the Li and Miao villages are still willing to get along well with us when conducting transactions. However, this does not completely rule out that some areas are still hostile to us, unwilling to accept our help, or even take hostile actions against us. We must eliminate these

It may take some time for the estrangement to resolve."

"Will the situation mentioned by Director Qiao affect the sericulture breeding area of ​​the Ministry of Commerce in Qiongzhong area?" someone asked worriedly.

As we all know, silk is one of the high-profit products exported overseas. However, due to climate and geographical conditions, there are not many areas suitable for sericulture farming on Hainan Island. According to the experience gained before crossing, only Qiongzhong

Only part of the mountainous areas can have the conditions to engage in the sericulture industry. Haihan currently has several cooperative villages in the Qiongzhong area, and has made a certain degree of progress. The next step is to invest more resources to develop them in the Qiongzhong area.

Gradually promote it and form a large-scale industry.

However, the Qiongzhong area is no longer a Han-dominated area in the traditional sense. It is basically within the scope of the Li and Miao people. Even if they are as strong as the Haihan, it is difficult to directly intervene there. Of course, this is not because the Haihan military strength is insufficient, but

Qiongzhong is a mountainous area, and transportation with the outside world is very inconvenient. It is actually very difficult to take military operations there. Considering practical problems such as supply, communication, and medical treatment, the military has not spared any effort to conduct military operations in the vast mountainous areas of Qiongzhong.

Clean up those cottages that are disobedient to discipline.

Geographically speaking, if the mountainous terrain is used as the difference between the coastal zone and the Qiongzhong mountainous area, then Shilu is actually quite close to uncivilized areas. Although the Shilu Iron Mine project has been carried out from the beginning to the present

It has been more than two years, but until now, Baishadong, a major settlement of the Li people about 80 miles away from Shilu, has still not established a relatively normal relationship with Haihan.

After Shizidong, who previously settled here, completely moved out of Shilu, there is no longer any Li-Miao village within ten miles of the Shilu mining area. Qiao Zhiya’s energy is mainly focused on production and construction. Since there are no

If there is an issue of ethnic disputes, he will not look for trouble for himself, but will take the initiative to contact those mountain people who live in the mountains and are unwilling to interact with Haihan.

Qiao Zhiya responded: "Don't worry, everyone, the world is big and the business is the biggest. If any force affects our business, then I'm sorry, such behavior will be regarded as Haihan's enemy. I think you all know that we

Haihan's attitude towards the enemy is uncompromising. If anyone makes us unhappy, we must first be prepared to be unhappy ourselves!"

As soon as Qiao Zhiya said these words, some people at the scene actually applauded. This is actually no wonder. Haihan, an armed force that protects shortcomings, is indeed rare to see elsewhere. The government will not mention it. During the refugee riots in Guangdong a few years ago,

The government and military often ignored local calls for help, and it was at that time that the Haihan militia became famous in the battle at Lijiazhuang. However, other private armed forces could not have the strength of Haihan. If something went wrong, they would mobilize fleets to cross the border.

They dare to send troops to fight at sea, even as far away as Fujian. This is no longer a private armed force guarding homes and homes, but a completely authentic army.

However, businessmen also know that the Haihan Militia will not do things like blackmailing places or bullying others. They are almost always dispatched to protect their own interests. Even if they accept invitations from Annan or Daming to send troops, they are actually doing things for Haihan.

Han fights on his own. As long as they stand on the same front as Hai Han, the properties of these businessmen can often be protected by the Hai Han militia. Therefore, these people not only do not feel disgusted with Qiao Zhiya's statement, but are very supportive of it, because no one knows

Whenever you are in trouble, you need help, and Haihan's commitment in this regard is the most reliable.

Because it took a lot of time on the way to Shilu, after visiting the No. 1 mine, it was already lunch time. Qiao Zhiya had also arranged the lunch in advance, and sent more than a dozen people up the mountain yesterday to fight the infertility.

The delicacies from Shaoshan are back and will be cooked for these guests today. Although the conditions here are not as good as those in places like Sanya, Qiao Zhiya has already ordered them to put in the seasonings and spices. These people will just eat the taste. As long as the taste is key, they will

Naturally, you will feel that you have received enough preferential treatment. Of course, the Haihan specialty Sanya rum is indispensable for such occasions. After a few glasses of wine, the guests will not care so much about the dining environment.

After lunch, rest for an hour or two, and then take the guests around the No. 2 Mine and take a look around. This inspection trip is basically completed. The tour can be allowed before dark

The group took the train back to Changhua. After all, the garrison here was either a military camp or a prison area, which was not suitable for these merchants to stay overnight.

There is indeed nothing wrong with Qiao Zhiya's plan, but changes often occur when everything seems to be going well. During the meal at the construction site headquarters at noon, Qiao Zhiya had just finished his speech when someone came over to report the news to him: Mine No. 1 was eating during lunch.

After counting the number of people, it was found that more than thirty people were missing.

In order to ensure work efficiency, the mine will not stop completely during the meal period, but will eat in batches. The miners do not need to leave the mine. The logistics department will use the bucket of the coal truck to deliver the lunch to each working face, and then the foreman will

They were distributed to the miners by their heads, and the number of people was counted during the process. Generally speaking, it is normal if there is an error of several digits in the number of people counted, because it is inevitable that someone will not be around when the number of people is counted, such as going to the toilet.

And so on. But if the error reaches double digits, the guard responsible for the safety of the mining area must report the situation immediately so that corresponding measures can be taken. And Qiao Zhiya happened to be working here today, so the situation was naturally reported to him quickly.

here.

After hearing this, Qiao Zhiya just calmly ordered: "I understand, follow the prescribed procedures. If there is new news, report to me in time!"

Since most of the miners are prisoners, the safety regulations in the mine are relatively strict. As long as a team is found to be missing people, the team will immediately stop working and gather at a designated location outside the mine to accept questioning from the guards.

. Generally speaking, as long as the missing person is not escaping, the missing person can be found quickly. At most, it is a warning. In serious cases, the individual's labor points will be deducted. But if the guards cannot determine the whereabouts of the missing person through inquiries and searches.

, then he will be classified as a fugitive, and the handling method will also change.

Even if the fugitives escaped from the mine, it would be impossible for them to leave Shilu by train. The dozens of miles between Shilu and Changhua were almost in primitive environmental conditions. Without carrying any food or tools, the prisoners

It takes a lot of physical strength and a long time to escape to a populated place. And even if you escape to Changhua, given the local conditions, it will be difficult for the fugitive to conceal his identity. After all, except for the standard prison uniform

, and they had no other clothes.

Of course, there is another way out, which is to escape into the mountains. However, the possibility of survival is smaller than escaping to the sea, because the inland mountainous areas are the territory of the Li and Miao people. As a foreigner, it is difficult to escape to those places.

They may die faster. Therefore, for fugitives, mining areas rarely take hunting measures unless their escape route or direction is clearly known.
Chapter completed!