Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 235 Naha Port Concession

The secretaries in the Prime Minister's Office were quick-witted and had long been on guard against Xiang Dehong's desperate kowtow again. The moment he knelt on the ground, they hurriedly pulled him up.

She kept crying and holding Xiang Dehong's arms tightly without letting go.

Prime Minister Li Hezhang forced himself to suppress his inner annoyance and just as he tried to offer some soothing words, he heard Xiang Dehong shouting:

"Prime Minister, if your country is not willing to send troops, please help the Ryukyu Kingdom train a strong army to protect itself. I and the entire Ryukyu Kingdom will be grateful for your kindness and we will always be brothers."

Train a strong army?
Prime Minister Li Hezhang frowned and thought for a moment, then ordered, "If you want to discuss things properly, you must not act rogue. It would be disgraceful to the state, and wouldn't it make people look down on you?"

"I have learned from the teachings of my elders, and Dehong will never act rashly again."

"Well, sit down and talk."

Prime Minister Li Hezhang would never believe what Xiang Dehong said. This man's credibility was completely ruined in front of him, and he would not believe a single word he said.

Seeing that the situation was improving, Prime Minister Li Hezhang waved his hand, and several secretaries from government offices let go of the purple-scarfed official Xiang Dehong, and in the process pulled at his wrinkled clothes.

The purple-scarf official Xiang Dehong didn't care and sat down as he was told.

Prime Minister Li Hezhang ordered tea to be served before asking, "Training a strong army is no easy task. In my opinion, your Ryukyu Kingdom has neither money nor food, and the royal court is extremely short of money. Where would you get the financial resources to train a strong army?"

Training troops costs money, and a lot of money at that. The State of Chu is not a sucker and will never pay for it. It must be made clear in advance.

The purple-turbaned official, Xiang Dehong, appeared well prepared and spoke forthrightly, "Our country can sell the Naha Port at a discounted price and sign a 99-year concession agreement. What do you think the Prime Minister thinks it's worth?"

Li Hezhang was shocked by these words and asked with great interest, "This matter is of great importance, and I'm afraid it's beyond your power to decide."

What Li Hezhang said had a source. Naha Port was a must-pass place on the route to Fuso and Korea in the north. Merchant ships traveled frequently between the south and the north, and merchant ships from the Chu State were naturally indispensable.

As early as the beginning of the 15th century, Naha Port was an important port for trade between the Ryukyu Kingdom and other Asian countries.

The Ryukyu Kingdom made huge profits through re-export trade, and Naha Port became extremely prosperous as a result. It was the heart of the Ryukyu Kingdom and also its money bag.

During the Second Sho Dynasty, Naha Port was ranked as one of the three major trading ports of Ryukyu, along with Tomari Port (located at the mouth of the Asato River) and Anye Port (located at the mouth of the Anye River), and had close exchanges of people and goods with the mainland.

The Naha samurai clan gained a high social status through their business activities and were listed as one of the four major samurai clans in Ryukyu, along with the Shuri samurai clan, the Kume samurai clan, and the Toma samurai clan.

Naha Port is not far from Naha City, and Shuri Castle is built on a limestone mountain about 120 meters above sea level near the city. It is a dynasty palace building with very southern Fujian characteristics.

How could Li Hezhang believe that the purple-scarf official told Dehong that he wanted to rent out such a crucial and important place and even sign a 99-year concession treaty?

The purple-turbaned official clasped his hands in greeting to Dehong and said calmly, "Before arriving in your country, I received instructions from the King. As long as the palace isn't sold and the Shang royal family survives, any agreement is acceptable."

"Oh... This is a serious matter. Let me think about it." Seeing that he did not look like he was joking, Li Hezhang sat back and began to think quickly in his mind.

If the area of ​​Naha Port could be leased, it would undoubtedly be a huge benefit to the State of Chu and a good opportunity to demonstrate the country's strength.

Regardless of whether the Fuso people attack the Ryukyu Kingdom, it will not affect the concession treaty signed by the Chu State. The Chu State does not have to face the Fuso army head-on, and can just station troops to defend the concession.

Unless the Fuso people want to go to war with the Chu State, they will not invade the concession.

So what does the Ryukyu Kingdom want?
A powerful army and the huge influence brought by the arrival of the Chu State can deter the Fuso people from going too far.

How effective it will be remains to be seen.

However, the Ryukyu Kingdom wanted to drag the Chu State into troubled waters by leasing the Naha port and intervene militarily at a critical moment for the survival of the kingdom. This was too much of an underestimation of the Chu State.

As long as Fuso recognizes Chu's concession interests and acknowledges and respects the concession treaty, Chu can just sit back and watch the fire from the other side of the river without having to take advantage of others' troubles.

Li Hezhang thought about it and kept looking at Xiang Dehong with hesitation. He saw that Xiang Dehong looked calm and looked as if he was ready to verify it.

Li Hezhang was undecided. After careful consideration, he said, "If you are not lying, our country will surely give you a satisfactory answer. This matter requires careful consideration. Once we have more information, we will discuss it with you in detail."

"Thank you, Prime Minister, for your concern. The Fuso Kingdom has made no secret of its wolfish ambitions and is eager to annex our country. If this is the case, it would be better for us to entrust everything to our brother countries and strengthen their military and people to help us. I will not lie." Xiang Dehong answered firmly.

"Well, I know everything about this matter. I will have a reply in a few days." Li Hezhang nodded and replied without giving a definite explanation.

For such an uncertain matter, I have to consult His Majesty.

Every other day

Ganquan Palace, East Pavilion
People feel refreshed when they are happy. This is the case with King Zheng Guohui of Chu. Ever since the queen became pregnant, she has kicked him out of the bedroom and no longer cares about him, let alone sleeping with him.

This time, it's like a mouse falling into a rice jar.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu could favor his beloved concubine as he pleased. These days he mostly summoned his beloved concubine Dongmei to sleep with him, and occasionally Qiao Yue, Su Mei Niang, Ruqin, Miao Hua, Qiao Xing and other girls would come to his bedchamber. They were all thin and plump, and the scene was very happy.

Young people are strong and the pleasure of sex is beyond words.

The queen was born into the prominent Li family in northern Anhui. Although she was extremely beautiful and only 18 years old, she was very dignified and virtuous, and would never overstep the boundaries.

She was too solemn and polite to allow King Zheng Guohui of Chu to play around, and she always had to turn off the lights.

This way, 90% of the fun is lost.

These concubines were different. They were completely obedient to King Zheng Guohui of Chu and would do whatever he asked them to do without ever refusing.

Comparing the two, the gap naturally emerges.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu came to the East Pavilion refreshed, picked up the hot tea and took two sips, then put down the teacup and stood in front of the large hand-painted map hanging on the side of the East Pavilion to admire it.

This is his habit, he reads it many times every day.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Li respectfully requests an audience."

"Oh...what brings you here today? Tell..."

"Follow the Holy Orders."

Within two minutes, Prime Minister Li Hezhang arrived with a thick stack of documents. Seeing King Zheng Guohui of Chu looking at him with interest, he stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your humble servant greets His Majesty and wishes you the best of health and happiness!"

"No need to formalize, please take a seat and serve tea."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Seeing Prime Minister Li Hezhang take the teacup and take a sip, King Zheng Guohui of Chu strolled up to him, took the information brought by Li Hezhang, flipped through it for a few times, and frowned.

These are all information about the Ryukyu Kingdom and Naha Port, as well as an investigation report from the Ministry of the Interior, which makes Zheng Guohui a little confused.

What are you doing with these things?

Prime Minister Li Hezhang did not need to keep the audience in suspense, so he explained the whole story in detail, and finally said;

"...

I have carefully considered this matter and believe that leasing Naha Port for 99 years will be beneficial rather than harmful, with the benefits outweighing the disadvantages.

Once accomplished, it will greatly enhance the prestige and reputation of the Chu State, and will usher in a flourishing and prosperous future."

"This benefit... is not easy to swallow!" Zheng Guohui said with a wry smile.

He understood better than anyone that the Japanese would expand madly in the next few decades. If he swallowed this fat piece of meat, he would sooner or later have to fight a tough battle with the Japanese. It was definitely unavoidable.

The current Fuso country is in the Meiji Restoration period. While it is fully committed to westernization, its national strength is growing, which has given rise to its growing ambitions.

This is not surprising. The greater the ability, the more people ask for.

Fortunately, Fusang was at the beginning of its rise to national power. However, due to its weak foundation and limited resources, Fusang sent hundreds of thousands of women to Southeast Asia, using their bodies to accumulate capital for the country. This bloody and tearful historical fact is a pain that Fusang is reluctant to mention.

In the present-day territory of the Chu State, there are also many Fusang brothels, which are famous for their low prices, large quantities, and many young girls. They are very popular among the lower-class Chinese people in cities and towns.

In terms of military strength, the Chu Army may be slightly inferior. Although its equipment is advanced, the number of troops is too small.

However, the advanced warships and equipment of the Chu Navy can definitely suppress the Fuso Kingdom and make it dare not look south.

Zheng Guohui was planning to arrange a naval fleet to sail north to Fuso Island and use gunboats to force it to sign a trade treaty, just as the United States, Britain, France and the Netherlands had done before, to win an open Fuso market for the Chu State.

The present-day Northern Court maintains a consulate in Nagasaki and has the same trade privileges as the European powers, but Chu does not.

Zheng Guohui originally planned to arrange it at the end of the year. Along the way, he happened to sign trade contracts with the Ryukyu Kingdom, the Fuso Kingdom and the Joseon Kingdom. Of course, these were unilateral and unequal treaties, which gave the Chu State the same super-national preferential treatment as other European powers.

Today's industrial products are produced in an endless stream, especially a large number of iron farm tools. This cannot be achieved with just the market size of several million households in the State of Chu. More export markets are needed.

No matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat. It is impossible to give up.

Zheng Guohui considered it carefully before speaking in a positive tone, "Yes, we will send someone to the Ryukyu Kingdom to negotiate. We can give them a batch of old-fashioned muskets. The government will decide the exact quantity. We can also send some instructors to accompany them to demonstrate our sincerity."

"Your humble servant will obey the Majesty's order and make appropriate arrangements." When Prime Minister Li Hezhang saw that the King of Chu agreed, he replied with a happy face.

After a moment's thought, Li Hezhang reported, "The Ryukyu Kingdom intends to recruit some brave and skilled warriors from the Chinese mainland and send them to the Ryukyu Islands using our fleet. Your Majesty, what do you think?"

"You guys go and talk about the details. Those people from Ryukyu are really useless. They are used to being bullied by the Fuso people. Their legs go weak when they see the Fuso warriors. Even if they are trained, they will be weaklings." King Zheng Guohui of Chu showed a disdainful smile on his face.

In today's era

When it comes to fighting, the Northern Divine Land has to be the best. Both in terms of the number and quality of soldiers, they are all top-notch soldiers who have survived bloody battles.

According to the information received by the State of Chu, in the past two years, tens of thousands of Taiping Army soldiers who survived the bloody battles had to sign indentures and board sailing cargo ships to North and South America in order to escape the court's pursuit.

The total number is approximately between 7 and 8.

Chinese workers can be seen everywhere in Cuba, Chile, Venezuela, Hawaii, and North America. These overseas Chinese do not have an easy life.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu really couldn't take care of so many things. They recruited millions of refugees to go to Southeast Asia every year to prevent these people who were suffering from the war from starving and dying in vain at young ages. They had already tried their best.

If it weren't for this kind act, the vast majority of these refugees would not see the sun next year, and at least 8% to 9% would have starved to death on the way, dying a meaningless death.

But I am unable to save more people!

At this stage
The State of Chu could only guarantee food for the one million additional Chinese immigrants each year. If it allowed the introduction of Chinese immigrants, its own food supply would not be able to keep up.

By the end of the year
The total number of Chinese immigrants who went to Southeast Asia exceeded 200 million households. They reclaimed more arable land, produced more food, and had stronger food reserves. Only then could the Chu State consider increasing the scale of immigration.

The total population of Northern China is 350 million, and it is in a disastrous era at the end of the dynasty.

The population is so huge that even 1% of it would be 350 million. Every year, the number of people affected by wars, droughts, floods and locust plagues is over million.

The small number of immigrants in Chu State needs some help!

China would naturally be happy to see the Ryukyu Kingdom introduce Chinese immigrants. After all, the immigration fleet would not help for free; it would charge money.

It was not just the Ryukyu Kingdom that came seeking help. Britain, France, the United States and other countries also had similar needs. Britain was guiding Chinese immigrants to the Malaya region of the Straits Settlements to develop local mines and plantations, which required a large number of Chinese labor.

France controlled the Indochina Peninsula under the Saigon Governor-General's Office, while the United States was in serious labor shortage due to the large-scale development of western North America.

The Chu government did not agree to any of them. These European and American powers had a very bad reputation. They treated Chinese workers as if they were not human beings and did not have basic respect and labor rights.

The State of Chu would never touch such money that was both unscrupulous and disreputable.

Those who cooperated with the British and American powers were all Chinese businessmen. Zheng Guohui had no control over this. There were many people who would forget their principles for the sake of profit. As long as the State of Chu did not get involved, it would be fine.

In the Chu government
A group of hard-line conservative forces, led by Minister of Commerce and Culture He Ruilin, who are concerned about the country and the people, have repeatedly advocated submitting petitions to the court, urging the State of Chu to speak out and expose the tragic facts of the harsh treatment of Chinese workers by European and American powers.

Let the northern court take effective measures to stop the outflow of Chinese workers.

It sounds righteous, but actually harbors evil intentions.

With the joint suppression of King Zheng Guohui of Chu and Prime Minister Li Hezhang, such voices were quickly drowned out by the public and did not cause much trouble.

In response to this kind of kidnapping speech from a moral high ground, the Ministry of the Interior has launched an investigation and listed in detail some of the participants, both in the court and in the military.

Next, resolute measures will be taken against these dissidents, and their fate will definitely not be good.

Are you kidding me?
He Ruilin and his ilk wanted to put the State of Chu on the fire. Their purpose of moral kidnapping was so vicious that it could not be explained away by a simple "misjudgment".

Doesn’t the imperial court know the plight of overseas Chinese?
With the great talent and strategy of Prince Gong Yixin, he worked hard to support the crumbling framework of the northern dynasty, shuttled between the foreign powers and the Han ministers, and cleverly maintained the strategic balance.

He used the Western powers to suppress the Han ministers, used the Manchu ministers to check the dominance of the Han ministers, and used the Han landlords to arm themselves against the riots and uprisings that broke out everywhere. He was truly a brilliant conductor.

without any exaggeration
Even a time traveler could not have done better than Prince Gong Yixin. He was truly wise and foolish, extending the life of the Qing Empire by decades.

Whether it was the concessions or the Chinese laborers, they were all sweet treats given by Prince Gong Yixin to the European powers. As long as the imperial court issued an order to ban the sea trade, no one would be able to export Chinese laborers to the outside world.

Is it really difficult to issue this decree?

It is indeed very difficult, because it touches upon the core interests of the European powers. While causing huge controversy, there is more than a 90% chance that it will trigger military intervention by the powers.

In the following decades, until the demise of the Northern Dynasty, no decree to ban the sea was issued. This was probably the reason.

In the eyes of Prince Gong Yixin, if millions of Chinese workers could "win the favor of the great powers, it would be gratifying enough." As for the blood and tears of these millions of Chinese workers, "they are all common people and are not a threat to us."

The upper echelons of the Northern Imperial Court all have this attitude, so why are people like He Ruilin making such a fuss?
Given the Chu State's current small size, it was like a hidden war between the East and the West was surging. Suddenly, the tiny Ryukyu Kingdom stood up and shouted, "Stop! I am a messenger of justice. You must stop your evil deeds..."

This is probably what it means. The current population of the Chu State is similar to that of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and is only a fraction of the population of regional powers such as the Kingdom of Siam and the Kingdom of Burma.

The strength of the Chu State lies in the fact that its population consists of no old or weak people, but all are young and strong Chinese. They are well-equipped and have strong combat capabilities. Their true strength can be compared with regional powers with larger populations.

It is very important to have a clear understanding of your own strengths.

The State of Chu was not yet strong enough to rebuke the world powers and make a decisive statement.

The native population of the world powers of Britain and France is more than ten to twenty times that of Chu. If the colonial population is included, the gap is hundreds of times.

The British and French powers were elephants, while the Chu State was at most a ferocious kitten.

Just from this point of view

People like He Ruilin deserve to be put to death. Zheng Guohui rarely has the intention to kill them, and he is currently in the stage of holding back.

Let them dance, let them jump around as much as they want. The more they expose, the cleaner it will be.

It’s not that King Zheng Guohui of Chu doesn’t want to do things for the Chinese people of China, but he must first take care of the nearly 300 million citizens of Chu (note: including all populations of Chinese families). These are his real people and the citizens he must care for first.

There are more people than he can handle, and he really can't take care of them.

The king and the prime minister reached a consensus and agreed to lease the port of Naha, and the subsequent measures were extremely powerful.

Just over ten days later
The northern visiting fleet, led by four sailing battleships prefixed with "Zhen" and "Jianghe Huhai", quickly assembled and sailed towards the north one after another.

The entire fleet consisted of 7 warships, 4 main sailing battleships, and three brigantine sailing clippers with a displacement of two to three hundred tons, which mainly served as guidance and communication.

(End of this chapter)