Chapter 84

At the beginning of October. After staying for several days at Zhenhai Fort, the expedition team finally set off with all the supplies they needed. Xu Yu left a cavalry platoon to guard the fort, which was still under construction. The rest of the team divided into four small boats and set sail along the western shore of Duck Lake, accompanied by several naval survey boats, slowly heading north.

After a day's journey, they stopped by the banks of the Rio de São Gonçalo, which connects Duck Lake to the southern Lake Milin. The water from Lake Milin flows into Duck Lake and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean. The riverbank was a vast, wild, and primitive landscape, with dense Brazilian pine forests stretching as far as the eye could see. The biologist Meng Hu, who was part of the expedition, was overjoyed and kept jotting down notes in a small notebook.

On October 6th, after a brief delay, the expedition team set off again. This time, they would not deliberately stop at any particular place but would travel at full speed along the western shore of Duck Lake, heading straight for the "legendary" confluence of five rivers.

On October 21st, after a grueling half-month journey, the expedition team arrived at the alluvial plain where the Yacui River, Tiquari River, Kai River, Sinos River, and Gravatai River converge. Along the way, they faced numerous dangers, including venomous snakes, jaguars, and crocodiles from Duck Lake, but fortunately, no one was injured. This fragmented alluvial plain is where the future capital of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, would be located.

On the eastern side of the river mouth, the expedition team encountered several local indigenous people for the first time. They belonged to a branch of the Guarani tribe. These Guarani people did not seem particularly wary of the strangers, especially when Xu Yu presented them with gifts like knives and iron pots. The Guarani people became even more enthusiastic. However, communication was clearly a barrier, as the Guarani spoke a completely unfamiliar dialect, even to a Spanish immigrant in the expedition team who was familiar with the Guarani language of Paraguay.

Of course, this was not surprising. The mining team leader Ai Zha took a few pieces of coal from his backpack, pointed them out to the Guarani, and then pointed to the surrounding forests and mountains, asking where they had seen coal. The Guarani clearly understood his meaning and chattered away, then took Ai Zha's hand and gestured for everyone to follow him. Xu Yu pondered for a moment and then decided to follow the Guarani. He led the Guarani onto the flat-bottomed boats, and thus, a group of 60 people followed five Guarani along the Yacui River, navigating through dense cinnamon forests on both banks. The sight of these cinnamon forests made Meng Hu drool; he told Xu Yu that cinnamon was a valuable spice in Europe, and this forest must be a treasure trove of wealth.

At noon, they turned right at a river confluence and entered the Kai River. After rowing for several kilometers up the Kai River, the exhausted expedition team finally reached their destination.

This was a river valley, with the residual mountains of the Gerar Range on the left and the abundant waters of the Kai River on the right. The land was very fertile. The valley was dotted with large, simple Indian-style houses, similar to those in Zhenhai Fort, made of reeds and branches. The riverbank was cultivated with many fields, currently empty but, according to Meng Hu's guess, the Guarani usually planted corn. There were also some animal pens, which made the team nervous when they discovered cows inside!

"Damn! Where did they get the cows?!" Lu Ming remained calm, exchanging glances with the others, who all became more alert, with some even opening their gun holsters to load ammunition.

"Don't be nervous, strangers!" An elderly Guarani man approached, his face painted white and his head adorned with a bright feather headdress. Seeing the wary expressions on Xu Yu and his team, he smiled and said slowly, "Surprised? I lived for many years in the Spanish mission in Parana, so I speak a little Spanish. These are all my people, who migrated here from the Parana River basin in the west. We have lived here quietly for many years, and you are the first outsiders to enter this area in twenty years. Strangers, tell Ayajo, where do you come from, and what are you doing here?"

After hearing the translation from his subordinates, Xu Yu felt slightly relieved and explained, "Respected Elder Ayajo, we are an expedition team from the Republic of East China in the south, and we have come here to find coal. Uh... it's something like this." Soon, at Xu Yu's gesture, Ai Zha handed two pieces of coal to Ayajo.

Ayajo looked at the coal in his hand and laughed, saying, "Strangers, this stuff is everywhere around here. You can dig it up almost anywhere. We don't even use it for cooking because it produces too much smoke and ash; wood is much better."

Xu Yu and his team were both surprised and delighted. They were surprised that the coal here seemed to be of poor quality, likely low-grade lignite or bituminous coal with high ash content, but they were delighted to hear that this area might be on a coalfield, and the coal seemed to be buried very shallowly, making it easy to mine.

"Do you need these black stones, strangers?" the Guarani elder asked. "Do you want to come here to dig for them? Don't try to deceive me, strangers. I have seen too many outsiders in Parana who gained our Guarani people's trust and then betrayed us through violence..."

Xu Yu looked steadily at the indigenous elder and smiled, "Wise Guarani elder, as you suspect, these black stones are exactly what we need, and we are indeed here to explore and mine coal. From what I understand, your village may be situated above a significant coalfield. I will report back to my superiors, and in the future, we may send a team here to build houses and mine coal."

"Then how will you treat me and my people?" Ayajo asked immediately.

"I cannot answer that for you. However, according to our country's policies, we may offer you and your people some compensation, material compensation. Of course, your people can also work for us, and we offer very generous pay."

The Guarani elder Ayajo thought for a long time before saying sadly, "Young man, do you know why I led my people from Parana to here? When I was young, I met a young Spanish priest. He was a kind and upright Valencian who taught me many things about farming, raising livestock, and the so-called 'civilized' way of life. But none of it appealed to me; I yearned for our Guarani way of life. We plant corn, we build dams to catch fish, we hunt wild animals—this is our true life. To find our own way of life, I and my people left Parana and came here. Now, twenty years later, are people coming to disrupt our lives again?"

Xu Yu remained silent.

"Hehe, young man, don't feel too guilty," Ayajo said with a bitter smile. "I can sense that the world is changing in ways I cannot understand. The old way of life may no longer continue peacefully. Perhaps you are right. Look at my young men; they are so fond of the small gifts you brought. Go ahead, young man, go talk to my young men. They have a good impression of you and can help you dig for stones in the future. After all, they are the future of the tribe!"

The expedition team stayed in this relatively friendly Guarani village for three more days. During this time, they thoroughly surveyed the area within ten kilometers, gaining a general understanding of the coalfield's location and size. The coalfield was not large, and the coal was of poor quality, which would not attract investment in the future. However, at present, the country had no coal mines, and industrial coal had to be imported, consuming a lot of funds. According to future data, the coal in Brazil was mostly of this quality. If you wanted high-quality anthracite, you would have to cross the sea to South Africa, where it was abundant.

Thinking about this, Xu Yu and Ai Zha discussed and decided to stop further exploration and return to Zhenhai Fort to report the situation. They had been out for quite some time, and it was time to show their faces to avoid worrying everyone about the safety of the expedition team.

On October 25th, the expedition team bid farewell to the Guarani and began their return journey. Before leaving, the Guarani presented the expedition team with several jaguar skins as gifts, and the expedition team left behind salt, liquor, and iron tools, with both sides parting on good terms.

The expedition team sailed down the winding Kai River, then entered the broad and turbulent Yacui River, and finally rushed into the vast and boundless Duck Lake, where the water gradually darkened, indicating changes in the salt content of the lake.

On November 1st, the expedition team returned to Zhenhai Fort at the southern end of Duck Lake in just six days. The news they brought back, as expected, caused a wave of excitement in Zhenhai Fort: they had finally found coal!

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