Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 267: New Look of Batangas Steel Plant
From the beginning of April 1868, the sensational effect caused by the Chu State pilgrimage delegation began to show its power.

This Southeast Asian country founded by the Chinese was originally only passed down by word of mouth in official circles and seemed quite mysterious.

Nowadays, it has officially entered the vision of the Chinese people, and along with various true or false legends of wealth, it quickly triggered a wave of immigration to Southeast Asia.

In April, the number of spontaneous Chinese immigrants increased rapidly from an average of 1.37 per month to 3.61, an explosive increase of nearly three times.

This is just the beginning

Early May

The Tongzhi Emperor of the imperial court issued an imperial edict, enthroning Zheng Guohui as the King of Chu with an imperial edict and an imperial decree, and bestowed him with a gold-plated silver seal with a camel button. He also sent Zhang Xueli, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel, as the chief envoy to Chu to issue the edict.

Zheng Xin, the Foreign Minister of Chu, and his entourage, carrying a large amount of gold, silver, jade and silk awarded by the court, together with Zhang Xueli, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who was the chief envoy to issue the imperial edict, returned to Manila by boat.

The king and his ministers of Chu State set up an incense table, respectfully welcomed the imperial edict, and bowed facing north. A grand ceremony was naturally indispensable, which made the court envoys quite satisfied.

From then on, he legally secured the throne of the King of Chu, and was granted an imperial decree by the emperor of the Northern Shenzhou court, thus taking the throne legitimately.

What followed was a surge in spontaneous immigration by Chinese, which suddenly increased to 5 by May.

By the end of June, the number had grown again to 6.

At that time, the Prime Minister's Office of the Chu State Cabinet held a joint meeting of various departments to discuss the trend of Chinese immigration to Southeast Asia and the orderly promotion of colonial settlements, in addition to further diversion and resettlement plans.

Given that most spontaneous Chinese immigrants came from wealthy small and medium-sized landowners and wealthy urban gentry, many of them moved south with their families, and some young students went to Southeast Asia to study and could decide for themselves where to live.

The Chu government decided
The number of immigrants going to Southeast Asia organized by the government was reduced from an average of more than 10 people per month to more than 6 people per month, a reduction of %.

The remaining shipping capacity was used to meet the needs of Chinese immigrants going to Southeast Asia at their own expense.

Why not make money if you have the chance?
Spontaneous Chinese immigrants would even sell their houses and land to save enough money for a boat ticket to Southeast Asia, realize their dream of wealth development in a foreign land, and pursue fair business development space.

This brought an opportunity for explosive development to the shipping companies of all sizes in the Chu State. The spontaneous immigration wave brought huge money prospects. Those were all tickets bought with real money, which ushered in a round of great development in the shipping industry.

The origins of these Chinese immigrants were complex, including students born into scholarly families, famous actors and actresses, as well as small and medium-sized landlord families and handicraftsmen affected by the war. Most of them had special skills and had higher overall quality.

As for the source areas of Chinese immigrants, they range from the Huguang region in the Yangtze River Basin, Shaanxi and Gansu in the north to Shandong and Henan, northern Jiangsu to northern Anhui, and all provinces along the southeast coast. Especially in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions where there were conflicts between the natives and the Hakkas, there were many cases of entire families or villages moving.

During this great migration, large shipping companies such as the Royal Nanyang Steamship Company, Shunfutai Steamship Company, Taiping Steamship Company, Sihai Steamship Company, Manila Steamship Company, etc., expanded like a snowball and their business became bigger and bigger.

The Chu government stipulated that the ticket to Southeast Asia was 99 silver dollars. The transportation company did not earn all of this money. After arriving at the Batangas Immigration Center, immigration tax had to be paid to the Batangas Immigration Center based on the number of people and the route.

Passenger ships arriving from the Guangdong-Guangxi route or the Mawei route generally had to pay between 62 and 68 silver dollars. In other words, for each Chinese immigrant transported, the shipping company could receive 31 to 37 silver dollars in transportation fees, and the rest had to be handed over.

Passenger ships arriving from Shanghai, Jinling or Chongming Island generally had to pay between 50 and 58 silver dollars.

In other words, for every Chinese immigrant transported, the shipping company could receive 41 to 49 silver dollars in transportation fees, and the rest had to be handed over.

Passenger ships arriving from the Weihaiwei route on the Qilu Peninsula had to pay 36 silver dollars per person, and the shipping company could charge a maximum of 63 silver dollars per person for transportation.

The government does not take all of these immigration taxes. After the immigrants gather at the Batangas Immigration Center, they will go through policy briefings, corresponding immigration education, household registration and other procedures. The next step is to transport these Chinese immigrants to areas in need of colonization via various routes.

For example, resettlement in Xi'an Prefecture, Donggang Prefecture, Shangri-La Island, the Solomon Islands, Saipan Island or Guam, etc., will cost a huge amount of money and requires government coordination and arrangement.

The relevant expenses are paid from the immigration tax, which is used to subsidize regular cargo ships transporting goods to outer islands, and the expenses are charged according to the number of immigrants per person.

According to the tendency of spontaneous Chinese immigrants, most of them are willing to settle in the vicinity of major cities on the mainland islands such as Manila, Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga, and Batangas, and even their purchase of land is concentrated in this area.

Then the government-led migration and resettlement of Chinese refugees will mainly flow to the Tongzhou Islands, Shangri-La Island, Palawan Island and other areas, avoiding autonomous Chinese immigration hotspots and achieving orderly diversion and resettlement.

Even with all the measures taken, as the enthusiasm for going to Southeast Asia grew, the average monthly number of immigrants quickly exceeded 15, climbing towards 16, 17 and even 18 per month.

This time
The influx of Chinese immigrants kept the officials of the Chu government very busy. They were forced to work non-stop at high intensity, and the scale of land reclamation and cultivation rapidly expanded several times.

On some outlying islands and outer islands, thick smoke can often be seen covering the sky. This is because rounds of burning and clearing land are being organized to accommodate the rapidly increasing number of Chinese immigrants.

By the end of June, the registered population of Chu State had exceeded the 6 million mark, reaching 400 million (Note: including newborns and more than one million indigenous women, who are now members of Chinese families).

Batangas Industrial Zone
More than a year later, King Zheng Guohui of Chu came here to inspect again. This heavy industrial area on the seaside was already full of chimneys, spewing out thick black smoke day and night, covering the sky.

It seemed that the originally dazzling light had become much dimmer.

At the Batangas Steel Plant under Nanyang Heavy Industries, blast furnaces No. 1 to No. 4 have been put into production one after another, and No. 5 blast furnace will also be put into production in October in the second half of the year, thus reaching full production.

Returning to the old place, it has changed a lot.

Inside the tall factory walls, thousands of steel workers bustle about during rush hour, creating a bustling atmosphere.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu and his entourage stood on the second floor of the office building, overlooking the busy and bustling factory area.

"Your Majesty, once the blast furnace in a steel plant is lit and put into operation, it must be operated day and night without interruption. Otherwise, once the slag solidifies, the blast furnace will be useless."

"The Batangas Steel Plant currently has 6225 employees, divided into two shifts: day and night. If we include the Jinsha Steel Plant to the south, the total number of employees exceeds ."

"There are 11 canteens in this factory, and they prepare three meals a day for the day and night shift workers. One at noon, one at 6 p.m., and one at midnight."

"Now all four blast furnaces are operating at full capacity, with each furnace producing about 4 tons a day. Together, the four furnaces produce 40 tons, bringing the total monthly production capacity to about 4 tons."

"Half of this production capacity is copper. The 2400 tons of copper ingots smelted each month are worth 50 silver dollars, which is a very significant economic benefit." "Adding in steel production, the monthly output value can increase by more than 2 silver dollars, with each ton of iron being worth 8 silver dollars."

"The high-quality steel from our factory is sent to the rolling mill, rolled into rails, and then exported to India. Each ton of rails is worth 32 silver dollars, a four-fold increase in value. We can supply 850 tons per month."

"There are now 12 horse-drawn railway lines entering the factory area. The factory is planning to introduce eight steam locomotives. The relevant orders have been sent to a British company, and they are expected to arrive by the end of the year."

"The factory, in collaboration with the steel rolling mill, steel foundry, and machine tool plant, is currently trial-producing a series of blast furnace equipment and mining equipment to achieve the goal of independent production."

"Currently, many projects are progressing smoothly and we will see results soon..."

Listening to the introduction of the Batangas Steel Plant, King Chu Zheng Guohui looked extremely calm with an expression of uncertainty.

Standing beside him were Viscount Zheng Guotai, Minister of Industry, Baron Fang Weishan, General Manager of Nanyang Heavy Industries, Baron Dong Baoshan, Deputy General Manager, Baron Li Jinghui, Chief of the Imperial Household Department, and other accompanying personnel.

Among them, Deputy General Manager Baron Dong Baoshan was originally a royal aide. He has now been assigned to Nanyang Heavy Industries to gain experience and qualifications. It is obvious that he will develop a career in business and economics in the future.

Baron Li Jinghui, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, was born into the Li family in northern Anhui. During the Nanjing period, he served as the director of the Western Office of the General's Office, responsible for managing the personal property belonging to Zheng Guohui.

After going to Southeast Asia, he joined the Royal Household Department.

Driven by a series of heavy industrial enterprises such as the Batangas Steel Plant, Steel Rolling Mill, Foundry, Machinery Plant, Steam Engine Plant, Steel Wire and Cable Plant, and Cable Plant, the heavy industrial city of Batangas has developed rapidly like a balloon, with an unstoppable momentum.

By the end of June, the city's population had reached 6, of which workers accounted for more than 31.3%. It had 722 enterprises of various sizes and 4325 businesses, making it an authentic industrial city.

Its city size is second only to Manila and Davao, ranking third in the Chu State.

It has surpassed major domestic cities such as Cebu and Zamboanga, and is developing in full swing, fully demonstrating the infinite vitality of the industrial economy.

According to the words of King Zheng Guohui of Chu
This is a heavily loaded carriage galloping at full speed, getting faster and faster. You must be very careful at this time and don't get off the track.

The first choice of destination for the Chinese immigrants who poured in from outside was either Manila or Batangas. These wealthy Chinese immigrants significantly pushed up the prices of houses and shops in the city and land in the suburbs, which were already twice as much as those in the surrounding prefectures and counties.

At present, it seems that the upward momentum remains unabated.

The entire city of Batangas is now a large construction site, with houses and buildings being built everywhere, especially the corridor buildings with unique Nanyang characteristics, most of which are three to four stories high.

This type of corridor building has a simple Victorian European style, which is very suitable for rainy tropical coastal cities and is very popular in towns and cities in the Chu State.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was basically satisfied with the development of the Batangas Steel Plant. After the last copper blast furnace was put into production in October, the total monthly output value would reach nearly 10 silver dollars.

Throughout the year, the total output value was close to 10 million.

As a leading heavy industry enterprise, the Batangas Iron and Steel Plant’s role is much more than that.

One ton of the high-quality steel it produces is worth eight silver dollars. After being pressed into rails at the rolling mill, the value per ton increases to 1 silver dollars, and the supply is in short supply.

The steel it produces enters downstream enterprises such as foundries, agricultural machinery factories, wire and cable factories, anchor chain factories, shipyards and steam engine factories, and is processed into various steel products. The value generated will increase to varying degrees, driving the prosperity and development of downstream enterprises.

The copper ingots it produces are made into copper coins by the Royal Manila Mint, made into various copper pots, copper plaques, copper tripods, copper bells and other products by handicraft factories, processed into various copper parts by machinery factories, and processed into copper field guns by the Manila Weapons Factory. Their value has risen sharply.

Therefore, the Batangas Steel Plant is a well-deserved leading enterprise.

He is the string that pulls the kite into the sky, driving the development of a large number of mid- and downstream enterprises, creating more social wealth, and promoting industrial development and urban prosperity.

Batangas Steel Plant and Jinsha Steel Plant are the leaders in heavy industrial development, with an annual output of more than 100,000 tons of steel and copper, accounting for half of the total smelting output.

that is

The output of Chu's traditional iron smelting and high-speed iron smelting was basically evenly matched, which was comparable to the level of France's steel industry, inferior to that of Britain and the United States, but stronger than that of Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

At this stage, the production capacity of traditional ironmaking or traditional copper smelting cannot be eliminated. This is a beneficial supplement to blast furnace ironmaking capacity, has created tens of thousands of jobs, and is related to the livelihoods of tens of thousands of ironmaking workers.

The third large-scale steel plant planned by the Chu government is located in Cagayan Province, where there are high-quality iron ore deposits and coal fields are not far away, making it suitable for the development of large-scale steel enterprises.

This Cagayan Steel Plant only smelts steel and does not have the ability to smelt copper. Its blast furnace equipment was produced by the Chu State itself and is the first generation of steel blast furnace equipment in the Chu State.

In Cebu, leveraging the abundant resources of bornite, a large copper smelter is planned. Its blast furnace equipment is also domestically produced and is similar to that used for steel, with minor modifications.

Batangas Steel Plant

After the hustle and bustle of rush hour, the workers returned to their respective posts and began to get busy, and the factory quickly became deserted.

Surrounded by a crowd of people, King Zheng Guohui of Chu inspected along the neat road paved with large stone slabs, stopping and starting, and asking the accompanying personnel about relevant situations from time to time.

The greening in the steel plant is very good, with large green areas on both sides of the road and flowers blooming in the bushes.

But under the smoke and ashes day after day, all the tree branches and blooming flowers were covered with a layer of gray-black powder, and the soil in the green belt was the same.

This seemingly serious pollution is a symbol of industrial power in today's era, and no one thinks there is anything wrong with it.

Zheng Guohui stopped beside several busy railway tracks and looked at the busy scene of horse-drawn railway cars filled with coke and mineral powder coming and going. He was naturally filled with emotion.

It is the power of today's steam industry and represents the most advanced productivity.

It’s just that this gray environment is a bit too dirty, you’ll get used to it.

(End of this chapter)