Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 378 Annan Immigration Arrangement
"Your Majesty, the first group of Annan Chinese and Annan women who followed the Nanyang Army to evacuate set off in the middle of last month. It is estimated that the fleet has now arrived in the South Pacific. The scale of this transport fleet is the largest in two years. The entire fleet is divided into four batches, with a total of more than 4 large and medium-sized transport ships, carrying about 6 immigrants.

I am worried that the expansion project of Haizhou Yishui Port (Puerto Montt) has not been completed yet, and I am afraid it will be difficult to guarantee the supply of materials for more than 4 people at one time? "

Inside the Zhongji Palace, the head of the Ministry of Revenue spoke.

"How many people in Annan need to be relocated?"

"According to the data provided by Mr. Mei, from mid-July this year to January 1883, a total of 60 Chinese people, 36 women of marriageable age, 6000 regular troops of the Nanyang Army, 1 Nanyang garrison troops and militia, and about 8 Annan officials and their families who are willing to defect to the mainland need to be relocated in Annan."

"Liu Pu, how many empty ships can the ocean shipping company spare for the Annan immigrant transportation operation?"

Between 1878 and 1880, the ocean-going immigration shipping capacity of the Han mainland was to transport an average of 39 to 43 immigrants each year. In the next two years, the local government in Annan alone would need to undertake the task of transporting 100 million immigrants. This scale has exceeded the average transportation capacity limit of the Han mainland in the past two years.

"There are currently 367 transport ships of various types under the name of Ocean Shipping Company. However, because Ocean Shipping Company mainly takes the African route, most of its ships are assigned to the African route area. Currently, there are less than 100 ocean-going ships that can be used to transfer to the South Pacific route."

"Stop some of the African routes, deploy 50 medium-sized transport ships, increase the number of ocean-going shipping companies on the South Pacific route to 150, and send a notice to local shipping companies to tell them that the government is temporarily requisitioning ships with ocean-going shipping capabilities to transport Annan immigrants. After the immigration operation is completed, the government will pay the companies employment fees according to market standard prices."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will do it tomorrow."

"Let's start the action of requisitioning ocean-going transport ships from the South Pacific Shipping Company. Two years ago, my father-in-law ordered 40 medium-sized ocean-going transport ships from local shipping companies, Germany, France, etc. Now the South Pacific Shipping Company has more than 100 large and small ships. Let's requisition his ships first and set an example for other local shipping companies. I believe my father-in-law will cooperate with the government's work."

"Zhang Guozhang is very righteous. In the past two years, he has invested a lot of money in various industries to support national construction. As long as your majesty announces the order to requisition ocean-going ships, Zhang Guozhang will definitely take the initiative to express his willingness to execute it."

“Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, and the Second Fleet of the Navy, you three departments must coordinate all matters related to the immigration transportation operation and bring the Chinese stranded in the Annan region and the Annan women who are willing to naturalize back to their homeland as soon as possible.

Although the local government signed a reconciliation agreement with the French, the King of Annan was old and sick. The Annan government army was frightened by the French colonial army in the war with the Han and French. If the Annan King died, the French colonists would most likely violate the agreement signed with the local government and attack the northern part of Annan in advance. Therefore, the navy and the Nanyang Army should prepare a response plan for the worst case scenario in advance. On the one hand, they should do their best to complete the immigration and migration mission, and on the other hand, they should leave enough garrison officers and soldiers in Lang Son and Quang Ninh provinces until the beginning of 1883, when the agreement came into effect, and then withdraw the last garrison troops of the Nanyang Army from Annan. "

Annan is an important transit channel for South America to obtain immigrants. If the time for France to annex Annan can be delayed, South America will be able to obtain more Chinese immigrants and Annanese women of childbearing age. Moreover, compared with ordinary Chinese male immigrants, the Annanese female immigrants that the Kitasaka area can bring to the local area are more important.

The imbalance of the male-female gender ratio is a problem that every immigration country has to face. In the past ten years, Annan has sent about 36 women of childbearing age to the mainland. After these women married Chinese men, they brought two to three million newborns to the mainland. However, as the dust settled in the Annan region, the 36 Annan women of childbearing age reported by Mei Dongxing were the last batch of female immigrants that South America could obtain from the Annan region. It is almost impossible to imagine that in the future, a large number of foreign female immigrants of the same yellow race will be obtained every year in the Annan region. The Annan women account for about % of the total number of women of childbearing age in Annan. Li Mingyuan and officials at all levels of the local government can guess that not all the Annan women who migrated to the mainland are voluntary. In order to solve the wishes of the local Chinese young and strong to get married, it is easy to guess what measures the officials at all levels in the Nanyang region and the Annan officials affiliated with the Nanyang Corps will take.

But on the other hand, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, being able to migrate to the mainland of South America will definitely make their future life much better than in Annan under French colonial rule. Most of the young and strong people in South America have received simple literacy education. At the same time, the local laws and regulations are relatively complete, and women and children can be properly protected by the law. There will be no phenomenon of husbands arbitrarily punishing their wives like in Annan.

When talking about the transportation and resettlement of Annan immigrants, Li Mingyuan thought of the underage girls among the Annan women who migrated, so he continued to remind them, "Underage girls have weaker physical resistance than adults, so for Annan girls under the age of fourteen, the Nanyang Corps and the Navy's immigration transportation department should take good hygiene and disease prevention measures, separate them from ordinary Annan adult women, and arrange a separate batch of transport ships to resettle them, so as to minimize the loss of personnel during the transportation process."

"Your Majesty, some of the Annan girls migrated to the mainland with their mothers and families. Do they also have to be separated from their families?"

"For those with relatives, it's fine, but as for the Annan girls who travel alone to the mainland, it's better to separate them from the ordinary transport ships."

"I understand your Majesty's intention. After the court session, I will send a telegram to Governor-General Mei, asking them to pay more attention to the girls in Annan and try their best to provide them with adequate safety and health protection."

"The issue of immigrant transportation and resettlement cannot be sloppy, especially after the Annan girls arrive in the mainland, the Ministry of Household Affairs, together with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education and other departments, must do a good job in resettlement. For Annan girls aged between 8 and 14, it is absolutely not allowed to privately tamper with their ages and illegally marry them to local Chinese young men. Once discovered, the officials and people involved will be severely punished, and the relevant government departments that fail to supervise will also be held accountable."

"I guarantee to your majesty that any Annan girl who has been naturalized by the Ministry of Revenue will be recorded. If there is a problem in any link, your majesty does not need to say it. I will immediately deal with the officials involved and voluntarily resign from the position of head of the Ministry of Revenue."

“The Ministry of Education will provide basic adaptive education to Annan girls as soon as possible, and there will definitely not be any incidents that would worry Your Majesty.”

The Ministers of the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Education expressed their views one after another.

"It's good to be determined, but we must also ensure that everything is done. Before the local officialdom was rectified, there were many cases of tampering with the ages of Annan girls and forcing Annan women to marry local youths. Although the local officialdom environment has greatly improved, there is still room for improvement in all aspects of the front-line rural areas."

Li Mingyuan's expression slowed down slightly as he said, "Since I became emperor and established the system, the government has been overwhelmed with affairs, and the inspection of various regions in the mainland has been repeatedly delayed. Fortunately, nothing major has happened recently, so I plan to take the queen and the concubine to inspect various parts of the mainland, so that I can get a closer look at the actual development of the mainland."………………

(End of this chapter)