Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 232 Immigration to the real border
In January and February 1867, the government, in accordance with the instructions of the King of Chu, implemented the policy of "immigration to the border", which greatly enriched the actual control over the Pacific border islands and further promoted reclamation and development.

Although this increased the workload of some grassroots officials, it played an important role in the long-term stability of the Chu State's territory and was a strategic layout.

During the two consecutive months of "immigration to the border", a total of 18.92 people migrated to border islands such as Guam, Saipan, Shangri-La Islands, Solomon Islands, Wake Island, Midway Island, Fiji, Micronesia, Nauru, and the Marshall Islands. Most of them were young and middle-aged Chinese men and women, with a ratio of roughly eight men to two women.

some of

Guam, Saipan, the Shangri-La Islands and the Solomon Islands have resettled a total of 15.53 immigrants, and the remaining 20-odd Pacific islands and reefs have resettled about 3.4 people.

In order to promote the immigration and settlement of the above-mentioned islands and reefs, the government has specially organized two transport fleets to carry out supply transportation to the above-mentioned Pacific islands and reefs.

One is the Melanesian supply fleet, consisting of four sailing cargo ships, which travel back and forth every two months to carry out regular supply missions.

It is mainly responsible for supplying the Shangri-La Islands, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and other islands in this direction.

One was the South Pacific Supply Fleet, also known as the Micronesia Supply Fleet. It consisted of three sailing cargo ships that sailed every three months, primarily supplying the South Pacific islands surrounding the Australian mainland and New Zealand.

This includes the Pacific Islands of Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, and Palau, which are the furthest-reaching offshore islands.

Major General Zhou Laonian is very enthusiastic. He led a long-distance fleet for more than four months and just returned recently. He almost tanned himself into a black monkey.

This expedition took place without any fighting, and covered almost all the islands in the South Pacific except New Zealand and Australia.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu could only praise his generals' enthusiasm with warm words, and then turned around to inform the government that the phased expansion operation had come to an end.

in recent months

The preferential tariff arrangement agreement between the State of Chu and several European countries was formally signed and was called the Manila Tariff Agreement, which provided institutional guarantees for economic and trade exchanges.

This led to harmonious relations between Chu and European powers, especially the influx of British cotton merchants from Singapore, which promoted close economic and trade ties between Chu and Britain.

British cotton merchants from as far away as the Governor-General's Office in British India also flocked in and brought in large quantities of cotton.

This bilateral economic and trade transaction has promoted the development of mutual relations.

The local tropical marine climate of Chu State is not suitable for cotton growth. India is one of the main cotton-producing areas. The economic and trade exchanges between the two sides in this field are a hard-core social demand.

The State of Chu did not set up any obstacles for this and acted according to the agreed taxation policy, which made the British side very satisfied and gave it a high evaluation.

The Chu State compiled a map of its occupation of the Pacific Islands and reported it to Britain, France and other countries. Without much trouble, it obtained recognition from the other party.

For these old European colonizers who colonized the world, these were just scraps that they looked down upon and there was no dispute over sovereignty.

Since the State of Chu has taken a fancy to it, just take it.

This is just like how rich kids look down on rag pickers, and will not steal the rags. Sometimes they will even sell the odds and ends that are not needed at home.

This was roughly the mood of the British and French powers at the time.

That kind of condescending arrogance and ridicule can be clearly felt even across the distant South China Sea.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu didn't care. After all, it was the beginning of the country and everything was difficult. I want all the territories that you don't like. I will collect them back first.

For example, a remote island like Midway Island that contains precious guano resources would be so regretful even if the British, French and American powers knew about it.

Wow, I should have taken him first.

For Pacific islands with a Chinese immigrant population of less than 3000, the Chu State implemented a tax-free preferential settlement system, and the Chinese immigrants who landed on the islands mainly relied on self-sufficiency.

When transporting them to the island, the Chu government equipped the Chinese immigrants with a certain number of swords and guns, as well as iron farm tools, seeds, a small number of cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese and poultry, as well as enough food to last for more than three months, free of charge.

This was the Chu government's help to immigrants, helping them to initially take root.

Grassroots officials who arrived on the island organized settlements, suppressed the local Pacific indigenous peoples, established villages and towns, and built the island from scratch.

From now on, when the supply ship arrives, the necessary supplies must be purchased with money and no credit will be accepted.

the reason for this

This is because with the current national strength of the Chu State, it is difficult to provide long-term financial subsidies to the islands. In this case, don't have any thoughts about it from the beginning.

They rely on themselves for everything, growing crops and fishing on the island, and live a peaceful and comfortable life.

From the beginning of March

After the two-month "Immigration to Border" operation ended, when Chinese immigrants were sent back to Manila and Cebu, the government was surprised to find that it saved a lot of time and effort.

The main factors are

During the two months of free time, the prefectures and counties in the above-mentioned areas conducted a detailed review of the population of the local resettlement villages and towns to find out the actual situation.

Those with more fields continued to enrich themselves, and those with less fields made minor adjustments before turning to land reclamation and new villages and towns, for which they did a lot of preparatory work.

This made the immigration process go smoothly again, efficiency improved, and various immigration confusions and complaints were reduced a lot, making the work smoother.

The secondary factor is that industrial enterprises settled in the Greater Manila area and the Cebu Islands have started production one after another, which has accommodated a large number of non-agricultural households, and the entire batch has been converted into workers.

For example, the Batangas steel plant site under construction and some nearby supporting factories have accepted 2.37 immigrants from northwestern Shandong and southern Henan, and have been resettled in dozens of factories, brick kilns, coal cellars, lime cellars and other places to enrich the labor force.

Two cement plants near Manila were also under construction, employing more than 1630 workers, which contributed to the resettlement of migrants.

It is now the end of April, and most factories have started production one after another. The No. 4 blast furnace of Jinsha Iron and Steel Plant was also successfully put into production in February, and the output has increased month by month.

It can be clearly seen
There were more industrial products on the market and commercial trade flourished, especially for the early Chinese immigrants in Mindanao, who had considerable purchasing power while repaying their loans steadily.

When industrial products were continuously supplied to the market, it aroused the strong purchasing power of the Chinese people, resulting in a good situation of booming production and sales.

Especially agricultural tools and daily necessities, sales are quite hot.

Many early Chinese immigrant families had farm tools, namely a gun and a hoe. Other farm tools such as iron plows, iron hoes, axes, and hatchets had to be borrowed from each other, which was quite inconvenient.

Now that the conditions are in place and the equipment is available on the market, we must definitely purchase all of it, so that we can find the right equipment when we need it. Wouldn't that be a waste of time?

If you have the means, you should buy daily necessities such as cups, plates, bowls, oil lamps, oil kettles, iron pots, kettles, needles and thread, and gradually accumulate a complete set of supplies.

Life at home would be inconvenient without anything.

If clothes got dirty or torn, you would tear off a few pieces of cloth and make new clothes. It was also reasonable to buy a handkerchief, a headscarf, or a belt.

In this way, the market gradually prospered. Department stores and daily necessities stores were always crowded with customers, and cloth shops and grain stores were doing a booming business, attracting many Chinese to join in and start businesses.

Ordinary farmers are used to eating rice, so they will buy some flour to make pancakes, dumplings, and steamed buns to change the taste. They will also add some oil and cut some meat to make some delicious dishes.

In theory, the Chu government's tax collection was not low, with 60% of the land rent collected, which was on par with the average level of the mainland.

But only by settling down in the South China Sea Islands can you realize how good it is here.

why?
Most of the immigrants to the South China Sea Islands come from East China and North China, and the number from Guangdong and Guangxi in South China is gradually increasing.

In the above areas

Many places can only grow one season of rice or one kilogram of wheat. Some areas in central China grow two seasons of rice, and very few can grow three seasons of rice.

On the South China Sea islands with a mild climate, people grow three rice crops on average, and they can also intercrop rapeseed or crops such as sweet potatoes. The farmland utilization rate is high, there is plenty of sunshine and rain, and the crops grow fast and well.

After the previous crop of grain is harvested, the soil is turned over and dried for a few days, and then the next crop of grain can be planted. There is no need to consider factors such as the solar terms, which is very friendly to agricultural production.

Each immigrant household has an average of more than 10 mu of land, which produces enough for food, clothing, and daily expenses, with a certain amount of surplus that can be saved to repay the loan and interest year by year.

It usually takes five or six years to pay off the debt.

Chinese immigrants have always been known for their diligence, and their love for the land and planting is inherited from their blood.

can be seen
In the immigrant villages, basically every household has their fields cultivated well. On ordinary days, the men in the village carry hoes and go to the fields.

Field
When the men were tired, they would sit in groups of three or five on the edge of the field to rest and chat, drink the water they brought with them, and roll up a cigarette and smoke it happily.

Looking at the rolling wheat fields brings me the greatest satisfaction.

Women at home cut grass to feed pigs, feed chickens and ducks with wheat bran mixed with vegetable leaves, take care of the yard, take care of the children, wash clothes and cook. Some women even carry their children on their backs to herd cattle.

It has been three years since the Chu State went to Southeast Asia. The situation in the prefectures and counties under its rule is stable. Except for occasional indigenous riots, most areas are prosperous and stable with good governance and harmonious people.

This is more evident in Mindanao, where early immigrants came from, and the social prosperity is even greater.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu is quite satisfied with the current situation. Stability overrides everything. The current focus is on domestic construction and the proper resettlement of immigrants.

In just over two months, the second crop of grain since the successful Northern Expedition will be harvested.

The huge sense of psychological security brought by the bumper grain harvest allowed the people of a turbulent society to feel a deeper sense of happiness in life and increase their sense of identity with this new kingdom.

This is an especially important point.

The State of Chu still blocks communications with the mainland. The blood relationship between the two sides is unbreakable, and this difficulty must be resolved sooner or later.

Zheng Guohui is considering a suitable candidate as the special envoy of the King of Chu to go to Beiping to pay a visit to Prince Gong Yixin, and through his channels directly face the two Empress Dowagers and request to become a vassal kingdom.

There is nothing we can do about it. If the name is not right, the words will not flow.

The majority of the Chu people are Chinese immigrants from the mainland. No matter who is sitting on the throne of the Forbidden City now, with a ruling foundation of more than 200 years and recognition from the whole country, that is the prestigious position of the Supreme Emperor.

If the State of Chu could gain recognition from the Celestial Empire, it would be like a kite being pulled along by a thin string, finally having a place to go, rather than being a self-proclaimed king.

One is a self-proclaimed king who occupies a mountain, and the other is a vassal king recognized by the imperial court. That's the difference.

(End of this chapter)