Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 382 South Pacific Islands
After coaxing the four well-fed and tired children to sleep, Sun Yingtai turned around and discussed with his wife, "I won't be staying long this time. Tomorrow night around 11 o'clock, our family of six will all meet up with the others at the entrance of Hutou Village. Time is very tight. Let the children stay at home during the day and don't run around. In the morning, you and I will go to Uncle Wu's place and entrust our thatched cottage to Uncle Wu to take care of. If we have the opportunity to return to Yangshu Village in the future, we will have a place to stay. If we don't come back, this thatched cottage and the one and a half acres of sloping field on the back mountain will be given to Uncle Wu. Just consider it as a token of gratitude for Uncle Wu's care for the children over the years."

"Are you in such a hurry to leave? Can't you stay for another five or six days, until I get rid of the sheep, two chickens, and some other bottles and jars at home, and then leave?"

"I have time to slowly settle things at home, but the transport fleet in Annan will not wait for us. Before I came back, the company commander and platoon leader reminded us several times that within the next year and a half, more than one million people and soldiers from all over Annan will be relocated to South America. The ocean-going transport ships in the mainland are in short supply. If we delay, not only will the good land and pastures in the mainland be divided up by others in advance, but we may also encounter other changes.

The situation in Annam is very unstable. The French have been causing trouble for the Annam government for a long time. No one knows whether the French will leave and send troops to attack the Nanban area of ​​Annam in 1883. Therefore, the sooner we get to Annam and leave on the transport fleet, the better. "

"Then I'll find a suitable buyer for our goat and two chickens tomorrow, and then we'll leave. That should be fine, right?"

"Don't bother yourself with so much. Give the goat to Uncle Wu. Kill the two chickens tomorrow morning. Then go to town to buy some side dishes and invite Uncle Wu's family to our house for a gathering. After dinner, give Uncle Wu's hut, sloping fields, and all the bottles and jars in our house. We can't take these things away anyway, so giving them to Uncle Wu is not a bargain for an outsider. Why be so stingy?"

Sun Yingtai urged.

"Huh, you are quite generous. Do you know how much suffering I have endured at home to raise those children? I spent a piece of silver and worked hard to raise those goats and chickens. But you just give them away. Have you ever thought about the suffering of me and those children?"

The wife started to cry as she spoke, "You did earn a little money outside, but that was earned with your life. Our family is poor, so it's good to save more money. Otherwise, if the family encounters difficulties again, even an extra penny is better than no money. Tell me, do I make sense?"

"Juan, I was wrong. I didn't understand your difficulties. Please stop crying, okay?"

Seeing his wife crying, Sun Yingtai felt bad. He wiped away her tears with his sleeves while explaining, "I originally thought that South America has allocated a small ranch to our family. It is said that the area is as large as 12 acres. And when you and your four children arrive in South America, after you register as retired military dependents, the government will also issue 5 acres of arable land to each adult, regardless of gender, and 120 acres of arable land to each minor according to the retired military dependents standards, or convert it into pasture grass, that is, five people, a total of acres of pasture,
I thought at the time that our family had so much land. After we arrived in South America, the government would provide agricultural tools and livestock such as cattle and sheep in the form of loans. With these assets, it would not be a big deal to give a sheep or two chickens to my uncle's family. Anyway, the prices of cattle, sheep, chickens and other livestock in South America are very cheap. We can buy dozens of sheep first, and when things stabilize, it will not be difficult to raise 700 to 800 sheep with the area of ​​our ranch..."

“Are livestock prices in South America really that cheap?”

The wife was full of curiosity and interrupted her husband to ask.

"I'm not lying to you at all. When I was serving in Annan, more than 20 brothers in the company who had divided their land and started families in their native land all said the same thing."

"Then we can't give the goat away. We've already given away our house and land, so we don't need to lose this goat. I think it's better to sell the goat and get some silver. Even when we get to South America, the extra silver can help us buy some more furniture."

"You have the final say on family matters. We all listen to you."…………

The next morning, Sun Yingtai put on a false braid, went to the town market early to buy some food, and then visited relatives with his wife.

Because they acted cautiously and kept a low profile, the soldiers who left with Sun Yingtai to pick up their relatives did not encounter any obstacles. That night, nearly a hundred people, including their families, rushed to the agreed location and left by boat. …………

Similar incidents continued to occur in southern Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi. Before making up their minds to go out to sea, most of the young and strong people took the risk because they had no personal experience of the real situation in Southeast Asia and South America. If they failed, the worst that could happen was that they would be alone and die in a foreign country. If they made a name for themselves or found a way to support their families, they would go home or ask trusted fellow villagers to bring their families to live together in South America.

Letters across the ocean were delivered to family members through the hands of fellow villagers. True news came from the mouths of the Chinese who returned home, strengthening their families' belief in going to sea to pursue a new life. The influence of the South American Han Kingdom in the mainland gradually expanded to southern Fujian, central Guangdong and Guangxi, and inland areas in the simplest and most primitive way. One by one, the closed and backward small mountain villages, due to the influence of the returning young and strong, gradually set off a wave of leaving home and going to sea. The young and strong in the mountain villages became fewer and fewer. In the end, there were even only dozens of old and weak people who could not stand the bumps on the sea and were reluctant to leave their homeland. They sat on the stone mill in front of the mountain village, quietly watching their fellow villagers and neighbors leave one after another.

The rapidly growing immigrant population has overwhelmed the various departments related to immigration affairs. The number of immigrants entering through legal channels such as official, local private and third-party shipping companies has rapidly exceeded the 500,000 mark per year, and the number of Chinese from the Far East who have secretly paid to cross the country without permission is also increasing.

Along the two local immigrant transport routes of Southeast Coast - South Pacific - East Coast of Africa - South America and Far East - South Pacific - South America, some Western fleets, in order to gain profits, also imitated the form of local immigrant transport fleets and carried out illegal immigrant smuggling activities.

After all, the funds that the Han government could allocate for regular immigration transportation operations were limited. Western transport fleets that could not get government immigration business orders were reluctant to give up the profits of immigration transportation and instead chose to carry out immigration activities through smuggling.

The risk of organizing smuggling is higher than regular ocean shipping, but the profits they gain are also much higher than those of regular shipping companies. In order to increase the local population, the government can only turn a blind eye to the Chinese people who smuggle into the local area. After all, the smuggled people have gone through untold hardships and risked their lives to reach their destination, and the local area is in urgent need of population to increase the country's development potential and war potential. No matter whether these people are literate scholars or ignorant poor farmers, as long as they arrive in the local area, and some of them go to newly developed areas to plant crops and fish, they can also provide some labor for the local area.

Due to the government's inaction, immigrants who have smuggled into the country will be punished with two years of concentrated labor as required after being reported and discovered. Then, like regular Chinese immigrants, they will receive basic literacy education as usual. After the two-year labor period, they will not lose a single cent of the land they are entitled to.

It is precisely because of this attitude of the local government that the number of illegal immigrants has increased year by year and is about to exceed 100,000 people per year.

Some of them died during the smuggling journey, and some were exiled to the South Pacific islands and the Congo colony because of their unbridled behavior after arriving in the mainland. The South Pacific accounts for 25% of the world's surface, and there are more than 20,000 islands scattered on the vast sea. The French Polynesian Islands in the South Pacific are beautiful, but if you go further west, the Samoa Islands, with hot weather and sometimes storms, are not a good place for exiled Chinese criminals.
In March 1880, more than 3 criminals were exiled to the Samoa Islands to build a shipping transit base in the South Pacific. By September 2000, a year and a half had passed, and more than 1881 people had died on the island due to disease, heat and other reasons. Therefore, although the Samoa Islands and the Polynesian Islands were later called the two pearls of the Han Empire in the South Pacific, the Chinese criminals who faced disease and heavy labor never thought so.

In September 1881, the fleet carrying Annan's evacuated soldiers and immigrants sailed to a certain area in the South Pacific. After more than a month of sailing, the passengers on the ship were not in good spirits. Mei Dongxing, Liang Xing, Wang Shizhen and others came out of the cabin and walked onto the deck.

"I have received an order from His Majesty that after the main force of the Nanyang Army arrives at the Samoan Islands, it will be mixed with the Marine Corps on the spot to form the Izu Islands garrison force. Captain Wang, I intend to recommend you to serve as the commander of the Apia Harbor garrison force in the Samoan Islands. What do you think?"

Mei Dongxing said to Wang Shizhen behind him seemingly casually.

"I will leave my post to Governor Mei's arrangements."

"Apia Port plans to deploy 400 veterans of the Nanyang Corps and 400 affiliated militiamen. When the official appointment notice comes, your rank should be promoted to major."

Mei Dongxing smiled and glanced at the other person's young face, and asked, "You graduated from the fourth term of the Army Officers School. You should be the first one among your classmates to be promoted to major, right?"

"I owe it to you all, my Excellencies, to be promoted despite my humble contributions. I am extremely ashamed."

"When a young man takes charge of a region's military affairs for the first time, he should be more cautious and stable."

Mei Dongxing nodded with satisfaction and asked, "After taking over the position of commander of Apia Port, how do you plan to manage and handle local military affairs?" "The Samoan Islands and the Polynesian Islands are far apart, and it is inconvenient to communicate and supply each other. In order to deal with the enemy's maritime attack, the island defense should be based on deep defense, supplemented by coastal port defense."

"Tell me your specific ideas."

"My lords, please take a look."

Wang Shizhen took out a marching map, found the location of the Samoa Islands, and analyzed, "The Samoa Islands cover an area of ​​more than 3000 square kilometers, of which Savaii Island covers an area of ​​1820 square kilometers; Ubulu Island covers an area of ​​1113 square kilometers. The two main islands account for % of the archipelago, so we should focus our defense on Savaii Island and Ubulu Island.

There are many volcanoes on Savaii Island. Mount Maugasili in the central part is 1858 meters above sea level and is the highest peak in the Samoa Islands. The northwest is a plain. Based on the geographical characteristics of Savaii Island, I believe that we should first investigate the structure of the main mountains on the island, avoid active volcanoes that may erupt, choose suitable mountains, use the newly developed picric acid high explosive as the detonator, blow up part of the mountain, dig bunkers inside the mountain, and build permanent defense fortifications.

Secondly, develop the northwestern plains and encourage immigrants on the island to grow food crops and raise livestock to ensure that the island's residents are self-sufficient in food.

Finally, a certain amount of food, weapons and other war materials are stored every year to deal with the sudden outbreak of war. The garrison troops can rely on mountain fortifications, underground bunkers and other defensive measures to carry out long-term holding out when reinforcements from the mainland cannot arrive. "

"It's a good idea, but digging a mountain bunker is a huge project. It would be difficult to achieve the war preparedness planning goals you proposed by simply using the local criminals who were exiled."

"After the immigration fleet departed from Annan, it passed through the sea where Southeast Asia and the South Pacific meet. Many islands there are home to many primitive black tribes. If the progress of the war preparations in the Samoan Islands is slower than expected, I plan to use the immigration fleet to capture young and strong laborers from primitive islands such as New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vatuanu to supplement the shortage of labor for island construction."

"Britain, the United States, Germany, and France have already begun to enter the New Guinea and Vatuanu Islands, openly capturing Southeast Asian black natives as laborers, which is bound to give rise to criticism."

Mei Dongxing disagreed with Wang Shizhen's plan, explaining that "there is no rush to implement the South Pacific islands war preparedness plan. After taking office, you can make careful plans. The local area will try to ensure sufficient supply of cement, steel, wood, sand and gravel and other construction materials. As for labor, in addition to capturing Southeast Asian blacks as laborers, you can also think of other solutions."…………

After looking at the azure sea and the vast sky, even the most magnificent scenery would make people feel dull and bored. Several people casually discussed the recent events in the local area, and from time to time they looked at the seabirds circling around the fleet on the sea.

"Sir, an island has been discovered in the sea ahead!"

Standing at the highest point of the bow watchtower, a sailor loudly reported an exciting news.

"How big is the island?"

"It's not very clear, but a rough estimate is less than one square kilometer."

"It's less than one square kilometer, the area is a bit small!"

The happy expression on Mei Dongxing's face slightly diminished, and he immediately ordered: "Send a reconnaissance ship to approach and see if there are any indigenous residents on the island."

"Yes, my lord."

A small gunboat with a displacement of more than 200 tons was lowered from the large transport ship. Seventeen or eighteen sailors maneuvered the small gunboat and quickly sailed towards the island.

An hour later, the immigrant fleet approached the outer edge of the island, and the sailors who landed on the island to explore also brought back what they had discovered.

The island covers an area of ​​about 0.7 square kilometers. There is a group of yellow-skinned indigenous people living on the island. Based on the facial features described by the soldiers, several naval officers in charge of the immigrant transport fleet believed that the indigenous people on the island belonged to the Polynesian race and were not the same race as the black indigenous people of New Guinea and the Vatuanu Islands.

"It's 0.7 square kilometers and there are hundreds of indigenous people. Based on this, the natural conditions on the island should be good."

Although the island is only 0.7 square kilometers in area, it has the resources to supply daily necessities for hundreds of indigenous residents. This at least proves that claiming sovereignty over the island is not a losing proposition.

“Send a hundred soldiers to the island with some food, and declare to the natives that the Han Empire has indisputable sovereignty over the island. From today on, they are overseas subjects of the Han Empire.”

Most of the islands in the South Pacific are small in area and far away from the mainland. Many small islands with an area of ​​a few tenths of square kilometers or tens of square kilometers are unowned. Therefore, taking advantage of the opportunity that Britain, France, Germany and the United States have not taken a fancy to these small islands, declaring sovereignty in advance has become a very meaningful thing for the immigrant transport fleet during its long voyage.

The South Pacific route has been opened for more than a year, and the navy and sailors on the ship have done similar things many times. Therefore, when Mei Dongxing gave the order, the sailors not only quickly arranged the personnel to land on the island, but also took out a stone tablet prepared in advance.

"Sir, every time we go out to sea, the fleet will carry ten stone tablets with names engraved on them. This time, we only found one small island floating on the sea along the way from South America. We have nine stone tablets left. Sir, please pick one of them and name the island ahead."

A junior naval officer in charge of the immigrant transport fleet said with a smile.

"Jianye Island, this is the only stone tablet."

"Your Excellency is really good at choosing an island named after your Majesty's reign title. This is the one I'll choose."

The naval officer looked at the name on the stone tablet and waved his hand for the sailors to move the stone tablet onto the ship.

(End of this chapter)