Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 266 Touching the bottom line
King Zheng Guohui of Chu withdrew his gaze from the map, sat down behind the desk, took a memorial from the top of a thick stack of memorials neatly stacked beside the desk, opened it and began to read.

During the inspection of Cebu Island

The relevant memorials that needed to be presented to His Majesty for his personal review were also transferred from Manila to this palace.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu had to set aside some time every day to handle daily government affairs, review memorials, and control the development direction of the kingdom's military, economy, industry, and agriculture.

Reviewed for a while
King Zheng Guohui of Chu picked up a memorial and his expression suddenly became solemn. After reading it carefully, a layer of anger appeared on his face and he threw the memorial on the table.

Zheng Guohui picked up a cigar, lit it, leaned back comfortably on the palace-style chair, took a deep puff of the cigar, and after slowly exhaling, the strong smell of cigar smoke quickly spread.

In the curling smoke
The eyes of King Zheng Guohui of Chu appeared exceptionally clear, revealing a chill that could freeze one to the bone marrow.

The staff around His Majesty who are familiar with His Majesty's temper know that His Majesty is really angry and someone is bound to be in trouble.

Judging from the text revealed in this memorial, it was a proposal submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, arising from a gold mine dispute between Melbourne and Melbourne, the southernmost city in the British Dominion of Australia.

Melbourne is known as the "New Gold Mountain" because of the rich gold deposits discovered here, which attracted Chinese gold prospectors from Europe, America and the northern continent.

According to records
In 1836, Melbourne had a population of just 177. By 1851, it was 2.9, and by 1854, it had grown to 12.3, making it Australia's largest and wealthiest city.

Among them, there are more than 4 Chinese gold diggers.

By 1867, Melbourne's urban population was close to 28.6, about one-fifth of whom were Chinese, making it one of the two largest Chinese-populated cities in Europe and the United States.

One is San Francisco in North America, and the other is Melbourne, the "New Gold Mountain" in Australia.

With the influx of a large number of Chinese gold prospectors, competition with white gold prospectors emerged. The conflicts between them gradually became prominent and intensified, evolving into several vicious incidents targeting Chinese gold prospectors.

Among them, the white gold diggers from North America played a very bad role and had a long list of bad deeds.

In 1859, there were more than 4.2 Chinese gold prospectors in the Victorian gold fields, and 21000 in New South Wales, accounting for 1/16 of the local population.

Even in remote Western Australia, there are hundreds of Chinese immigrants.

As early as June 1854, a group of white gold prospectors from southern North America gathered at the Bendigo mines, attempting to expel the Chinese gold prospectors from the mines.

Because the British colonial authorities took certain preventive measures, no serious consequences were caused, but it did mark the beginning of large-scale and organized anti-Chinese activities.

The "Bendigo Incident" also prompted the Victorian authorities to consider the issue of Chinese gold miners.

The Australian colonial authorities pointed out with some concern

If left unchecked, the number of Chinese coming to Australia will soon exceed the number of subjects of the British Empire.

On June 1855, 6, at the initiative of the "Goldfields Royal Commission" headed by Faulkner, the Victorian authorities passed the Immigration Restriction Act.

The Victorian colonial authorities' approach received a positive response in South Australia and subsequently expanded to New South Wales and Queensland.

Even more violent incidents occurred in New South Wales. More than a thousand white people, armed with weapons, attacked the Chinese gold miners' residential area in the Laming Lowlands, beating, humiliating and committing violence at will.

Two Chinese people were killed, ten were injured, and the property of hundreds of Chinese gold miners was looted.

During the trial, the local white colonial government judge actually acquitted these white criminals and released them in court, which further boosted the arrogance of the white gold miners.

It is difficult to enumerate all these evil deeds.

According to the practice of non-retroactivity

Before the Chu State was formally established, it had no position or sufficient status to intervene in this matter, which should have been the diplomatic affairs of the court.
After the establishment of the State of Chu, a group of royal and private capital also went to Melbourne to develop. Relying on their strong capital advantages, they quickly opened up the situation in the local area and obtained the exclusive mining rights of seven gold deposits.

Such actions aroused the dissatisfaction of local white gold mine owners. Then last month, in Bendigo, a vicious incident broke out in which more than 730 white gold diggers attacked the mine with weapons, knives and sticks.

The "Second Bendigo Incident" once again caused 11 deaths, 56 injuries, serious damage to the mine, and various financial losses of up to 3.6 pounds, which attracted the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During negotiations with the Australian side, the other side's attitude was arrogant and abusive, with a profound disregard for the safety and interests of Chinese expatriates and merchants. They frequently invoked the British Empire as a pretext for pressure, making the negotiations extremely difficult. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a protest, demanding that the Australian colonial authorities earnestly fulfill their commitment to protecting the safety of expatriates and the rights of merchants, severely punish the perpetrators, and uphold legal justice.

And all this

The British Australian colonial authorities obviously did not listen. The Victorian court re-examined the "Bendigo Incident" case 17 days ago and all 24 white suspects were acquitted, which was a slap in the face of the Chu State.

This was exactly what made King Zheng Guohui of Chu angry. He had no control over previous matters, but now the Australian colonial authorities were slapping him in the face and did not take Chu's diplomatic negotiations seriously at all.

My uncle can bear it, but my aunt can't either.

Thick cigar smoke lingered around him as King Zheng Guohui of Chu considered things calmly before signing a few lines on the petition.
"Order the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to immediately negotiate with the British Minister to the Far East, stating that our Chu State reserves the right to take retaliatory measures.

The Australian authorities' series of egregious actions have severely damaged the feelings of the Chinese people, damaged bilateral relations, and worsened the currently harmonious trade ties. This is absolutely intolerable."

The reason why the Chu State Ministry of Foreign Affairs negotiated with the British Minister to China was because the interests of the Chinese were damaged, which was within the scope of the British Minister to China's duties and did not exceed the scope of his duties.

Today, colonial affairs are part of the foreign affairs of the United Kingdom.

Through the British Minister to China, Chu's diplomatic negotiations could go directly to the Foreign Office in London without having to go through the Australian colonial authorities. It could negotiate directly with the British upper echelons instead of arguing with the Australian colonial authorities.

Write here
King Zheng Guohui of Chu put down his pen, reviewed it carefully, and continued writing after some consideration.
"The Chu State gave three months to urge the Australian colonial authorities to change their ways and not become the culprits who worsened bilateral relations.

If you insist on your own way

The Chu State will completely cut off Australia's trade and cargo routes. The preferential tariff conditions previously agreed with the Malacca Governor's Office will not apply to the Australian Dominion, and the region will not enjoy preferential tariffs. It will need to pay additional high tariffs.

Any white Australian arriving in Hong Kong was charged an entry fee of 40 silver dollars per person.

Whenever an Australian cargo ship passes through for supplies, a supply tax of 1000 silver dollars will be charged on each ship. Those who refuse to pay will be punished as those who maliciously resist taxes.

Any white Australian who entered the Chu State to do business or settle down had to pay a monthly residence tax of four silver dollars. This was a counterattack against the unequal regulations of the Australian colonial authorities.

If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, the above measures will be officially promulgated and implemented on June 6th."

Putting down his pen, King Zheng Guohui of Chu slowly let out a breath of anger, he was really angry.

The northern court certainly cannot be relied upon. The Chu State must step in to comprehensively curb this vile behavior emanating from the United States and clearly express its position of protecting the Chinese diaspora.

When the interests of the Australian colonial authorities are damaged, they will certainly be able to face up to their own actions.

The Chu State had the means to fully control Australia, mainly because of its absolute geographical advantage that was difficult to bypass, which allowed it to strangle the Australian colonial authorities.

The straight-line distance from Hong Kong to Sydney is as high as 7800 kilometers. Such a long route is equivalent to crossing one and a half Atlantic Oceans, so the logistics supply port is very important.

It is simply a fantasy that no sailing cargo ship can sail directly from Hong Kong to Sydney or Melbourne without receiving supplies.

In the territory of Chu

The Hong Kong to Sydney route requires at least three resupply stops in Zamboanga, Xi'an and Donggang. If it is a large steam iron ship, it requires at least four resupply stops.

A high fee of 1000 silver dollars was charged for each port replenishment, which was equivalent to taking a layer of skin from the ship every time. The cargo ships sailing to Sydney could not bear it anyway.

Today, Australia's total population is about 179 million. This vast and desolate continent has almost no industrial production and relies entirely on imports from the outside world, covering all aspects.

The route between Sydney and Melbourne in mainland Australia is also one of the important routes in the South China Sea region.

Once the Chu State imposed heavy taxes on passing cargo ships, the prices of transported goods would inevitably soar, and all Australians would eventually have to pay for it.

The 40 silver dollars entry fee per person and the 4 silver dollars monthly residence tax specifically for white Australians are a naked humiliation.

How can we, as proud British people, tolerate this?

(End of this chapter)