Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 265: Long-distance Telegraph Line around Nanyang
The Emperor Meiji issued an edict to Fuso, and the reciprocal trade treaties and concession treaties signed by various countries were implemented in sequence. The Chu State also got lucky, and the related good news has been reported back.

When King Zheng Guohui of Chu discussed this matter with everyone, he felt very happy, as if he had caught the last train of the great powers.

In the past few years, Fuso has been plagued by internal and external troubles, so there is no need to think about it in the future.

During a conversation with Lieutenant General Qian Jiang, the Minister of Military Affairs, King Zheng Guohui of Chu mentioned the ongoing Boshin War and said:

"Emperor Meiji is young and ambitious, yearning for Western learning, and possessing both ambition and wisdom. He is a rare wise ruler for the Japanese nation in hundreds of years. He is definitely not someone to be trifled with, and should be treated with caution and respect."

Hearing His Majesty's high evaluation of Emperor Meiji, Lieutenant General Qian Jiang's face changed slightly. He looked at the others with a frown and blurted out,

"Your Majesty, the Emperor Meiji was only a child, only 17 years old at the time. I'm afraid it wouldn't have happened to him, right?"

Viscount Weghorst and Viscount Zheng Guotai also showed hesitation, some disbelief in their words. However, since His Majesty had spoken, no one dared to object.

Cebu Governor Fan Zhicheng sat respectfully in the back. There were government officials all around him, but he had no right to speak.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu sighed softly and said slowly;

"You guys remember,

Meiji was only 15 years old when he ascended the throne. The secret decree to overthrow the shogunate sent to Choshu and Satsuma domains did not contain the emperor's seal, which was a bold move.

War is a matter of great importance to a state.

This is a subversive change that concerns the safety of an entire country. How can we act so rashly?
If you really talk about it, it's neither right nor justifiable.

The so-called secret decree to overthrow the shogunate was nothing but a piece of waste paper, but Meiji dared to issue it, and the two powerful clans of Choshu and Satsuma dared to accept it. What does this indicate?
This demonstrated their extraordinary courage and ambition, and now their gamble had paid off. The Emperor's army had defeated the Shogunate's army in Kyoto, securing victory in this crucial battle.

A glimpse of the whole picture
The Meiji Emperor's rise to the forefront was unstoppable. He joined forces with anti-shogunate elites such as Ōkubo Toshimichi, Kido Takayoshi and Iwakura Tomomi to govern the country, vigorously promote Westernization, and learn from others' experiences. The future of Japan was expected to be strong.

The North will surely be a formidable enemy in the future and should not be underestimated."

After hearing this, the ministers thought deeply and remained silent. They put themselves in the situation of Fuso at that time and also found it very difficult.

If Meiji really wrote a blank note, would he dare to accept this so-called secret decree to overthrow the shogunate?

It's terrifying to think about it carefully. This is a final charge of allowing soldiers to rebel. Even if you have the courage, you probably wouldn't dare to obey the order.

There are certain rules for issuing royal edicts. Even the King of Chu, Zheng Guohui, must follow them and not break them easily.

If they were all IOUs, wouldn’t it be a mess?

After King Zheng Guohui of Chu specifically pointed this out, all the ministers were horrified. Minister of Industry, Viscount Zheng Guotai, said flatly, "This is a rebellion against the imperial edict. Even if I were to die, I would never obey it. The only option is to kill myself."

This is the only way out as there is no other choice.

If he really received a note from His Majesty ordering him to assist those who led the army in rebellion, Viscount Zheng Guotai would definitely not dare to obey the order and would have no choice but to commit suicide.

Now that you know such an important matter, if you don't resist, you will die.

The possibility of pretending nothing and continuing to live your leisurely life is so small that it can be ignored.

Several other ministers nodded in agreement. Viscount Weghorst showed compassion on his face. After making the sign of the cross on his chest, he said with a pious look;

"In the name of Christ, your Lamb, I pray for God's mercy. Amen."

Viscount Wehorst is not stupid. It is impossible to have the best of both worlds in Europe. If you participate in a rebellion, you will win or lose. There is no third way.

Sorry everyone, I really can't spare the time this time. Let's wait for the opportunity to cooperate again in the future. See you later...

Put yourself in their shoes;
The faces of all the ministers of the Chu State changed. They felt that the Emperor Meiji of Fuso and the anti-shogunate elites were a bunch of lunatics who had no rules at all.

Seeing everyone's expressions change, King Zheng Guohui of Chu nodded calmly and said, "If someone can disregard life and death, personal honor and disgrace, and will do anything to achieve his goals, isn't such a person worthy of respect?"

"Your Majesty has a far-sighted vision. We are so stupid and ignorant that we feel unworthy of your advice." All the ministers stood up, bowed and replied.

Minister of Military Affairs Qian Jiang suddenly showed a ruthless look on his face. He slashed downward with his hand and suggested, "Your Majesty, I have a plan to eliminate this trouble forever. If..."

King Zheng Guohui of Chu raised his eyelids and looked at him. Lieutenant General Qian Jiang immediately felt as if his throat was knotted. His so-called plan came to an abrupt end, and then he lowered his head in embarrassment.

He is an old man who has been with King of Chu Zheng Guohui for a long time. He was originally the son of his wet nurse. During the Tongzhou militia period, he was the right-hand man of King of Chu Zheng Guohui.

It's not about how capable one is, it's just about being "loyal, sincere, diligent and cautious".

When King Zheng Guoyao of Chu said to go east, Lieutenant General Qian Jiang would definitely not go west. He was a loyal dog under the Zheng family.

As a result, he was deeply trusted and entrusted with the important post of Minister of Military Affairs. "The tide of history is so great that it cannot be moved by one person alone." King Zheng Guohui of Chu said in a calm voice. He paused, looked around at everyone, and continued;
"No one can stop the rise of Fuso. This is not the work of any one person, but the result of a generation of enlightened people who were influenced by Western learning.

In today's era, great powers are rising up and the colonial enclosure that divides the world is becoming more and more intense, which is a scene that has not been seen in a thousand years.

If you want to sit at the table, you must have enough strength.

The correct path is to build the Chu State into a powerful nation by developing its own strength, colonizing, developing the economy, and developing industry and agriculture."

"Your Majesty's decree, we humble servants are enlightened." All the ministers bowed and said.

After having afternoon tea, the ministers said goodbye and left.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu walked leisurely into the large study in the palace. This palace-style building was more than ten meters high and appeared bright and pleasant in the cool climate of Cebu.

According to the custom of King Zheng Guohui of Chu
In the palace's study, 3.6-meter-high European-style rosewood bookcases are placed in a circle along the wall. There are various Chinese and foreign books covering a wide range of categories, many of which are ancient and rare books.

On the wall diagonally opposite the palace-style desk, there is a huge world map carefully hand-painted by European painters. In the square box centered on the Pacific Ocean is an enlarged map of the Hainan Islands of the Chu State.

It can be seen that the map of the Hainan Islands has marked the submarine cable connection lines, and all the straits where submarine cables are laid in the archipelago are marked out with green lines, which is concise and clear.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu's eyes fell on these strait cables, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

The full completion of the Hainan Islands submarine cable has enabled King Zheng Guohui of Chu to take his control over the country's mainland islands to a higher level, which is of great significance.

No matter what major incident occurs in any corner of the island, the report can be delivered to his desk in just one or two hours, and he can respond quickly accordingly.

Now, the Chu government’s cabinet, the prime minister’s office, all the departments, the government offices, and even the county towns below are all connected by telegraph.

The royal family has its own secret telegraph room, where officers from the Royal Guards hold important positions to ensure that secrets are not leaked.

Zheng Guohui looked at Hong Kong on the map with a passionate expression.

Before the end of June this year
The submarine cable connecting China Unicom and Hong Kong is about to be laid. This will be the Royal Nanyang Telegraph Office's first appearance on the regional stage and is bound to win applause.

Now, the British development direction is to move northward. Under the name of the Great Northern Telegraph Office of Denmark, they first lay the submarine cable to Nagasaki, connecting Edo and Kyoto.

The next step is to lay the submarine cable to Chongming Island, and finally cross the river into the British and French Concessions, realizing the ultimate goal of connecting the telegraph line to northern China.

The development direction of the Royal Nanyang Telegraph Office was to go westward, connecting Hong Kong to Macau, and then from Macau westward along the coastline.

First arrive in Qinzhou, then go south to Haiphong in the Beibu Gulf. The submarine cable to Haiphong can lead to a long-distance telegraph branch line directly to Hanoi.

The submarine cable continued south along the coastline of Indochina, connecting the Vietnamese royal capital of Hue and French Saigon along the way, and then went directly along the coastline of Indochina to Bangkok, the Kingdom of Siam.

Two telegraph lines were drawn from Bangkok, one of which went west overland into Burma and connected with the telegraph network of the British Indian Colonial Governor's Office.

The other route goes south along the coastline of the peninsula, passes through Penang Island to Singapore, crosses the Strait of Malacca, and then connects to Palembang on Sumatra Island north of the Strait of Malacca, forming a perfect closed loop.

This was the development direction planned by King Zheng Guohui of Chu for the Royal Nanyang Telegraph Bureau, striving to lay the above-mentioned long-distance telegraph lines within a year and take the lead in occupying the market.

The current situation is that the quicker you act, the better.

When a long-distance telegraph company laid telegraph lines in Southeast Asia, the British and French would back off and basically continue to use the long-distance telegraph line network of the Royal Nanyang Telegraph Company.

This is because whether in Britain, France, the United States or Germany, investment in long-distance telegraphs came from privately run businesses. Without government investment, no capitalist would do business at a loss.

Currently, in the entire Nanyang region, long-distance telegraph services are in their infancy.

The initial investment is huge and the risk is high, and there is no possibility of making a profit in a short period of time.

The cake is so small. Since the Royal Nanyang Telegraph Bureau has laid out the long-distance telegraph network in Southeast Asia, why not just use it? Why start from scratch?

When the Nanyang telegraph market expanded rapidly, the Royal Nanyang Telegraph Company took the lead and formed a de facto telecommunications monopoly, and the capital of other powers had even less intention to participate.

This is the core essence of the preemptive layout, and King Zheng Guohui of Chu knows it;
This business requires a huge one-time investment in the early stage, but you can then sit back and relax for decades or even hundreds of years, collecting money until your hands are tied. It is a fantastic monopoly business.

With the Pacific Islands controlled by the Chu State, the future trans-Pacific submarine cable lines will undoubtedly be controlled by the Royal Nanyang Telegraph Bureau, which is another goose that lays golden eggs.

Of course, laying submarine cables across the vast Pacific Ocean is extremely difficult and is not something that can be considered in the short term.

If it can be achieved within 20 years, it would be considered fast.

(End of this chapter)