Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 328 Victorious Return
a few days later

The First Detachment of the Australian Expeditionary Force quickly expanded to more than 7.7 people, and began to march south in a large number of troops. They crossed the border of Victoria in five groups and swept through the state's large number of white ranches like a hurricane.

Thousands of white ranches suffered irreparable and severe losses in this unprecedented disaster.

Sporadic resistance was simply unable to stop the Australian Expeditionary Force's iron hoof. Anyone who dared to resist would die without exception.

The pasture was occupied, and the wife and daughter were plundered...

Not long
A large number of gold deposits outside Melbourne were occupied by the cavalry heading south. Many white gold prospectors who had always oppressed the Chinese, especially those from North America, were subjected to targeted liquidation and paid a heavy price.

More than 20 days later

On February 1869, 2, when King Zheng Guohui of Chu set out to return to his homeland, all of Victoria, except the capital Melbourne, had fallen into the hands of the Australian Expeditionary Force.

More than 4300 white ranches in Victoria changed hands and became trophies awarded by His Majesty the King of Chu for their meritorious service.

Before leaving Australia, King Zheng Guohui of Chu issued an edict of reward, bestowing generous rewards on the Australian expeditionary force, which had expanded to 14.72 people, and everyone gained something.

All officers above the rank of colonel basically became large farmers owning thousands or even tens of thousands of acres of land, with ranches in the countryside and houses in the city.

All lieutenant-level officers basically became small and medium-sized ranchers, owning land and women in the local area.

All of the 4.2 officers and soldiers of the initial Australian Expeditionary Force were able to find decent accommodation in towns and cities. As for whether they could capture white women, that depended on their personal abilities.

These residences are widely distributed in towns on the east coast of Australia, from Wollongong, Sydney to Brisbane, from Townsville to towns in the north of Yorke Peninsula, as well as many inland towns, covering dozens of towns in Australia except Melbourne.

In cities like Sydney and Brisbane, there are several thousand people, in cities like Townsville and Wollongong, there are between three and two thousand people, and in the South Hills and smaller inland towns, there are more than a thousand or even hundreds of households, widely distributed.

Later, more than 100,000 expeditionary officers and soldiers who were forced to join the army, those who were willing to follow their superiors to the ranch, could go to live on the ranch and become free Chinese cowboys.

Those who are willing to continue panning for gold can stay in the gold mine. There will be no salary, but they can rely on their status as Australian Expeditionary Force to enjoy many more conveniences. At least no one dares to bully them.

Those who want to farm farm, those who want to do business do business, and those who want to work work, each looking for a way to make a living.

In this land of Australia

Since then, Chinese immigrants have been able to stand up straight and get married, buy land and property, do business and go to school, or work in government departments and earn a stable salary.

After arranging everything, King Zheng Guohui of Chu boarded the large sailing ship Guangming, led the sailing fleet and the returning immigrant fleet loaded with goods and cattle and sheep, and left Sydney Harbour in a mighty manner, embarking on the journey back to his homeland.

On the blue sea
The huge fleet had masts and sails like a forest, and all the returning immigrant ships were loaded with wool and large numbers of cattle and sheep, returning home happily with full loads.

Many ships also carried thousands of young white girls, most of whom were beautiful. These were the "local specialties" that the Australian expeditionary force paid as tribute to the royal family and military and political leaders.

White women are very expensive and are liked by many military, political and business leaders in the kingdom. They are very good "local specialties".

The Australian Expeditionary Force was an army formed with the Fifth Expeditionary Division as its core. After King Zheng Guohui of Chu lavishly rewarded officers and soldiers, most people had already guessed its future direction.

I guess I will settle down in Australia from now on.

In this way, the close ties with the kingdom's homeland must not be severed, and the exchange of gifts and courtesy is what the title originally meant.

It was a very common thing for the powerful people of this era to send a few maids to each other. It was also very common in the State of Chu. It was elegant and unconventional.

In addition to the above thoughts

Now, all the officers of the Australian Expeditionary Force have transformed themselves into ranchers, so in the future they can sell cattle, sheep and other livestock at a good price.

The mainland of Chu State was a huge market. Both farming and land reclamation required a large amount of animal power. Even wool, the largest commodity, had to pass through the islands of Chu State before it could be sold.

It is definitely worthwhile to establish good relationships with domestic military and political leaders in advance.

"Congratulations to Your Majesty on this successful trip. You have led the army to expand our territory for thousands of miles, spread our country's prestige overseas, and created unprecedented achievements. We congratulate you!" The ministers around him bowed in unison and flattered with smiles on their faces.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was also in high spirits at this moment. He laughed heartily a few times, looked back at the Sydney Harbour that was getting farther and farther away, and said in a heroic manner;

“I did leave Melbourne to the British, saving their dignity and not wiping them out.

But I have never said that I would let these ghosts and monsters in Victoria go. I should take this opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop, so that I can completely get rid of this evil feeling.

A lame Victoria state and an isolated city like Melbourne can't make any big waves."

"Your Majesty sits high above the temple, and you can see things thousands of miles away, as if you were reading lines on the palm of your hand. You are so wise that I, your humble servant, cannot even compare to you." The ministers said admiringly again.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "The English are notorious for their cruelty. Ordinary people are all afraid of them like a tiger. How dare we touch their whiskers?"

At this point, he couldn't help but chuckle. Then he continued;

"But our Chu State has actually offended us. If both sides deploy their troops and go to war, there will be no way out.

Either don’t do it, or do it thoroughly.”

At this moment, a trace of ruthlessness that made people tremble in their hearts flashed in the eyes of King Zheng Guohui of Chu. This made the ministers' hearts suddenly jump, and they lowered their heads in fear.

The monarch before him could be described as possessed by the god of death. After joining the army at the age of 14, he fought bloody battles with the Taiping rebels for years, and used the countless corpses of the bandits to establish his prominent position as a military and political leader.

After leading his army to Southeast Asia, he killed the natives and destroyed the tribes, overthrowing the Frankish colonization of more than 300 years in one fell swoop, and destroyed several indigenous kingdoms.

During this journey, he killed more than tens or even millions of people. It was truly a sea of ​​blood and corpses, which forged the invincible power of the current King of Chu.

Even with just a quick glance, the generals commanding a large number of troops were frightened to the point of becoming weak in the knees and acting as obediently as cats.

His intelligence and talent are both top-notch, but he is too murderous, which makes people tremble with fear.

Perhaps sensing his ministers' fear, King Zheng Guohui of Chu slowly softened his tone and said in a gentle voice, "My dear ministers, this long sea voyage is arduous. You do not need to wait on me any longer. Go back and rest. We will have some government matters to attend to after disembarking, so you must be well-rested."

"Your Majesty, please stay healthy. We will take our leave." After the accompanying ministers bowed, they left and returned to their cabins on the ship to rest.

The Guangming sailing ship has many cabins, and accompanying ministers like these can get a separate cabin and bring a personal maid to serve them in their daily lives, and also take care of their physiological needs when they are bored during the sea voyage.

Returning from Australia

Without exception, these officials brought with them a beautiful white girl to serve in the cabin.

The original maid took other accompanying ships, but could not get on the "Light" sailing ship.

These guys who always acted righteously called others "Western women" fiercely, with a look of contempt on their faces, but their bodies were very honest.

It is said that behind the scenes, these white girls are called "Golden Cats" because their hair is all golden.

The large sailing ship "Guangming" cut through the waves and sailed northward. The huge fleet around it formed two parallel columns, stretching for more than 20 kilometers.

Sailing along the east coast of Australia is a very safe journey.

The main force of the British Royal Fleet is now gathered around Singapore. There is not much naval power that can be deployed to the Tongzhou Islands, let alone Australia.

The British Royal Navy fleet is indeed powerful, but there are too many colonies to take care of them all.

If a small fleet of three or five ships were discovered in the waters around the Tongzhou Islands, they would be doomed and could easily be surrounded and annihilated by the Chu Navy fleet.

Except for large armored warships with strong anti-strike capabilities, the small fleets of three or five sailing ships belonging to the British and French forces generally stayed away from the waters around the Tongzhou Islands.

After three days of sailing, the northbound fleet successfully arrived at the waters around Donggang.

Some of the transport ships in the task force left the main formation and entered the East Port Fjord one after another.

These ships are on schedule

After unloading the goods and cattle and sheep in Donggang, it is necessary to transport the immigrants to continue south to carry out the immigration migration mission.

Most of the task force continued to move north, turned west along the Shangri-La Bay a day later, continued sailing, and arrived at Xi'an Port four days later.

Some ships in the withdrawing fleet left the formation here and sailed into Xi'an Port one after another. These ships were carrying cattle and sheep that had arrived at Xi'an Port and were about to unload here.

The subsequent loading of local Chinese immigrants, such as those from different regions of Australia, were resettled in steps, but these will not be mentioned here.

The sailing fleet with the Guangming as its core continued to move westward and successfully entered the Davao Gulf after a day and a half, and entered the port along the Davao River estuary, which was also the final destination of the task force.

The transport ships of the task force unloaded all the cargo here, including 1.4 tons of wool and a large number of remaining cattle and sheep. After the cabin was cleaned again, some immigrants would be carried on board to continue to Australia.

The sailing fleet repaired here and sent a formation to the nearby sea to search for enemy ships and blockade the sea area, waiting for the opportunity to attack.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu stayed at the Davao Palace, closely following the latest battle reports from the Singapore front and analyzing the current situation in the Nanyang region in order to make decisions.

The king arrived at the Davao Palace at noon on March 1869, 3.

At this time, London's upper aristocracy and government, tens of thousands of miles away, were horrified and shocked by the bad news.

After learning that Australia had fallen, the entire British Isles was in an uproar, even making Her Majesty Queen Victoria furious. The current London cabinet had to resign, thus triggering a political earthquake.

(End of this chapter)