Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 338: Taking the Country as the Surname
Inside the Royal Palace

At the end of January 1868, Queen Zheng Li gave birth to a healthy baby boy for the royal family of Chu, who was named Chu-Zheng Yuan. In January 1, when he was one year old, he was made the crown prince of Chu.

Zheng Guohui personally drew up the names and generational order of the royal family of Chu. All the royal families of Chu "took the country as their surname" and added the word "Chu" in front of their names.

Since the prince's lifetime, the royal family has been arranged according to the five elements of "water, fire, earth, wood, and gold". Chu is a country of thousands of islands and respects the virtue of water, so the prince's generation first chose "water" among the five elements.

In the name, three water drops are added.

In the next generation, the radical of the character "fire" was added, and the characters were arranged in the order of the five elements.

For example, the crown prince of King Chu was named "Chu-Zheng Yuan", the eldest illegitimate son was named "Chu-Zheng Dan", and so on.

In May and September 1868, the King of Chu's favorite concubines, Dongmei and Ruqin, gave birth to a son and a daughter respectively, who expanded the royal family of Chu and were canonized as Concubine Mei and Concubine Qin.

This son was the third in line and was named Prince Chu-Zheng Zhan. The eldest daughter was not ranked according to generation and was named Princess Chu-Zheng Miao'er.

By this time, the King of Chu already had three sons and one daughter, and several concubines in the harem were pregnant. Seeing the prosperous scene of many children and blessings, the old queen mother was so happy that she smiled happily.

The only thing that worries me is
Old Prince Zheng has been bedridden since the beginning of the year, with intermittent illness and no improvement. He is even less able to withstand the wind and waves of sailing south, which makes King Zheng Guohui of Chu very worried.

He has sent his third brother, Lieutenant Colonel Zheng Guoliang, Duke of Mindoro, back to his ancestral home in Tongzhou to serve the old prince and fulfill his filial duties on behalf of the King of Chu.

Lieutenant Colonel Zheng Guoliang was 20 years old. He graduated from the third class of the Jinling Military Academy in 1867 and went to Saipan with the rank of second lieutenant to serve for half a year. He was soon promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

After that, he returned to the kingdom and served in the 1st Expeditionary Division, where he served as a staff officer with the rank of lieutenant and captain, and as an infantry battalion commander. During the Anglo-French War, he went to the Batangas Bay position and was responsible for defending a section of earthen ramparts.

After the war, he was promoted for his merits and awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel in the army. He then went to his ancestral home in Tongzhou to fulfill his filial duties to Old Master Zheng on behalf of the King of Chu.

This rocket-like rise can only be attributed to the fact that being a royal relative is so good that others cannot but envy it.

In the harem

Today, the lobby on the second floor has been turned into a place for young children to play. Three little pink balls over one year old, plus the eldest son Xier who is over four years old, play here every day.

After returning to the palace, King Zheng Guohui of Chu would always stay here for a while, chatting with Queen Zheng Li and watching the children play happily, which was a very warm and pleasant experience.

"Your Majesty, I have heard that the old prince's condition has been relapsing, and I am deeply troubled. It would be best if I could travel north to visit my relatives. It would be the best thing to do if I could be at the old prince's bedside and show my filial respect."

The queen stared at the playful little pink ball with her beautiful eyes, her delicate eyebrows slightly frowned, and a look of worry appeared on her beautiful face.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu could not help but nodded and said comfortingly;
"The British have telegraph lines that reach Chongming Island. I have already ordered them to be laid to Tongzhou to facilitate the transmission of messages.

Wang's younger brother Guoliang was taking care of the sick in the countryside. Every 2 to 3 days, he would send a telegram to inform the relevant reasons.

Even though it's thousands of miles away, it will arrive in an instant, so there's no need for the queen to worry too much."

"Having said that, if you don't stay by the old prince's side to take care of him, you will inevitably be criticized, which is not right." Queen Zheng Li said worriedly. She turned her head to look at King Chu Zheng Guohui, and gently stretched out a delicate hand and gently placed it on Zheng Guohui's big hand.

Then she said, "How about I go ahead and return to Tongzhou to be with the old prince and fulfill my filial duty on your behalf, Your Majesty, so as to silence the gossips of the world? What do you think, Your Majesty?"

King Zheng Guohui of Chu considered this for a moment and said, "Let's wait until the victory parade on May 5st is over. It would be wise to find a suitable day for you and me to return north together."

"That's fine. I will follow your Majesty's orders." Zheng Li agreed meekly.

Her worries were not unnecessary. For thousands of years, China's cultural heritage has been based on filial piety and brotherhood. Monarchs of all dynasties did not dare to touch this minefield for fear of attracting criticism from the world.

The Analects of Confucius says in "Learning": "Filial piety and brotherly love are the foundation of benevolence."

"Benevolence" is the core of Confucianism, and "filial piety and brotherly love" are its foundation. They have been the cornerstone of Chinese culture since ancient times, and no one dares to violate them.

"Filial piety is the principle of Heaven, the righteousness of Earth, and the conduct of the people." Governing a country with filial piety and brotherly love is a principle that the Chu State, with its legitimate roots, has always adhered to.

The love for one's family is innate, deeply ingrained in one's bones and blood, and follows one everywhere like a shadow. The principles of filial piety and brotherly love are inspired by heaven and earth and are applicable to the entire universe.

The "Way of Filial Piety and Brotherly Love" has been the way for Chinese people of Han and Tang descent to cultivate their character and establish themselves for thousands of years. It is the way for Chinese society to maintain family relationships and maintain social order.

Govern the country with filial piety and respect for elders, and adhere to this principle unswervingly.

Even with the current honor of the King of Chu, he cannot make any mistakes on this issue and give others an excuse to criticize him.

Queen Zheng Li was born into a prominent family in northern Anhui and had a deep understanding of this. It was for these reasons that she spoke up to remind the King of Chu to pay attention.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu agreed and gave a few more careful instructions before he stood up and walked towards the third floor, with Concubine Mei following quietly behind him.

Seeing this scene, Queen Zheng Li couldn't help but sigh, turned her gaze to the little pink balls who were playing, and a charming smile appeared on her face again.

The harem all knows

His Majesty favors Dongmei, the concubine, and only Dongmei can enter the inner study on the third floor. She is responsible for taking care of the memorials that His Majesty has read and storing them in the archives.

When I came to the study on the third floor, it seemed much quieter without the noise of children playing.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu walked to the sofa and sat down. Dongmei walked up to him silently, stood behind the sofa, and stretched out her hand to massage and wash King Zheng Guohui's head.

Her technique is very skillful and the strength of kneading is just right.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu closed his eyes comfortably, lying relaxed on the sofa, enjoying Concubine Mei's service with a comfortable expression on his face.

After massaging for a while, King Chu Zheng Guohui patted his legs gently. Concubine Mei stopped and couldn't help but give him a reproachful look.

But she still sat obediently in the arms of King Zheng Guohui of Chu and curled up like a kitten.

"Your Majesty, no!"

He held this soft and petite body in his arms. At first, she was well behaved, but soon her big hands began to wander around restlessly, which made Concubine Mei couldn't help but moan.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was moved, and he lowered his head to the side of Concubine Mei's fair earlobe, and said with hot breath;

"You dare to disobey the king and father, so you should be severely punished. You will serve me in bed tonight. I like to smell the mint and vanilla scent of my beloved concubine after taking a bath, don't forget it." "I know my crime." Concubine Mei was blushing as his big hands roamed around her, and she begged for mercy in a trembling voice.

Desire is like this, and the desire is full of interest.

Taking advantage of the moment when King of Chu Zheng Guohui changed hands, Dongmei suddenly jumped off his lap, hurriedly straightened her messy clothes, lowered her head and said with a blushing face, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

After saying this, he left in a hurry as if escaping.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu allowed her to escape. The occasional joy in the boudoir was very helpful in relaxing tense nerves and allowing people to escape from the ever-changing regional situation.

He picked up a memorial and started reading it.

This is a memorial requesting the establishment of a weather forecast network in the State of Chu, following the example of the Paris Observatory in France.

The Chu State itself relied on the layout of submarine long-distance cables that extended southward to Sydney, eastward to the Solomon Islands, connected to the Hainan Islands and Hong Kong Island, as well as around the Indochina Peninsula, to form a complete long-distance telegraph network structure.

Based on this advantage, astronomical observatories with 5 to 7 people are set up in various places to upload astronomical and meteorological information every day. After being aggregated in Manila, more accurate weather forecasts can be generated.

This was of great benefit to the State of Chu, which was highly dependent on maritime transportation.

However, astronomical forecasting is a business that does not generate direct profits and requires government funding or royal funding to conduct in-depth research on astronomy and meteorology.

After reading it carefully, King Zheng Guohui of Chu thought that what this person said was meaningful and had a detailed plan for setting up an observatory, starting from Sydney in the southernmost tip, all the way north along the Australian coastline to Townsville, to York Peninsula, across the strait to East Port, and then winding all the way west and north.

A total of about 19 astronomical observatories were set up, built according to the mountainous terrain in various places. The total investment cost more than 1.1 silver dollars, more than 2700 silver dollars for instruments, more than 210 scientific research personnel, and an annual budget of 1.92 silver dollars.

King Zhengguo of Chu was very satisfied when he saw this. This is the attitude of doing things seriously.

He picked up his pen and wrote on the memorial: "In the name of the Imperial Family, I order the Ministry of Internal Affairs to fully fund the release of weather information to the public and free of charge for the benefit of the people."

This is a good thing that will enhance the reputation of the royal family. With more accurate weather forecasts, many shipwrecks can be reduced every year, allowing long-distance fleets to avoid storms in time. It is indeed a good deed.

Moreover, the astronomical and meteorological data accumulated over a long period of time in the Nanyang region are of great value for studying the climate patterns in the region and further rationally arranging shipping schedules.

This kind of good thing that benefits the country and the people must be strongly supported.

Putting down the brush in his hand, King Zheng Guohui of Chu took a look and felt satisfied.

Over the years
Shipyards have sprung up across the Chu State, becoming a hotspot for investment. There are now over 110 shipyards across the country, most of which build iron ships, with a smaller number of smaller yards building traditional fishing boats.

Due to the strong demand for shipping, these large and small shipyards have a lot of orders and are developing rapidly.

Some large shipyards already have the capacity to build and produce 5,000-ton iron steam freighters.

From this point of view
As long as there is huge profit to be made in an industry, the investment efficiency of social resources will be the highest and the development will be the fastest. There is no need to worry about the introduction and digestion of advanced European shipbuilding technology.

Under the guidance of the Chu State's policies, a large number of Southeast Asian Chinese businessmen cooperated with local dignitaries of the Chu State to develop dozens of shipping companies of various sizes, operating intra-island and inter-border trade and transportation businesses.

The Port and Shipping Administration, the Ministry of Transport, the United Kingdom's Treasury, the General Police Administration and other government agencies have issued the "Chu Shipping and Transportation Law", which implements classified management of domestic shipping company qualifications, with quite good results.

Shipping companies obtain different levels of qualifications and can operate different levels of routes.

The lowest level, Level 5, is for inland waterway routes. Generally, shipping companies that meet the audit standards can obtain the operating qualifications for inland waterway routes.

The next higher level, Level 4, is the strait route, which mainly operates island transportation between the four main islands of Chu State, such as the Davao to Zamboanga route, the Zamboanga to Bandar Seri Begawan route, the Cagayan to Puerto Angeles route, the Cebu to Badayan route, etc. There are more than a hundred similar strait routes, most of which are used for cargo transportation business in various parts of Chu State.

The most distinctive feature of the strait route is that its length must not exceed 300 kilometers and it is only used for near-sea navigation and not for far-sea navigation.

Level 3 routes can go farther, such as the surrounding Batavia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Saigon, Bangkok, the Ryukyu Kingdom, Fuso Edo Port, etc., basically covering Southeast Asia and East Asia.

The difference between Level 2 routes and Level 3 routes is that Level 2 routes can run to the northern Shenzhou continent, which means that they can engage in the extremely profitable population immigration transportation business, which is a very high threshold.

In the country of Chu, there are now 7 large shipping companies that have obtained Level 2 route qualifications and are authorized to operate immigration and post-transportation business in the Chinese mainland.

Behind these seven large shipping companies, there is either royal capital or capital invested by military and political leaders. Not only must they have strong political and business relations, but they must also have a solid capital foundation.

The immigration ship heading to the northern continent is also one of the fastest-upgrading ships.

The main immigration ships of these seven major shipping companies have generally been upgraded to iron-hulled steam ships of 7 to tons. They run at a high speed, carry a large number of immigrants, and are more secure.

The highest level of shipping qualification is the unlimited navigation area qualification. So far, only three large shipping companies have obtained it, one is Royal Nanyang Shipping Company, one is Four Seas Shipping Company, and one is Fushun Da Shipping Company.

These three shipping companies are extremely powerful, with at least more than 130 transport ships of various types, especially medium and large ocean-going ships.

More than 90% of the orders for iron-hulled steamships with a capacity of more than 5,000 tons placed at major shipyards across the country came from these three major companies, and more than half of them came from the Royal South Seas Shipping Company.

It was the strong demand from shipping companies that drove the prosperous development of shipyards across the country, and at the same time promoted the rapid development of the steel industry led by Nanyang Heavy Industries.

Currently, two wealthy businessmen from Southeast Asia have joined forces with domestic political and business families to invest heavily in the steel and heavy industry, preparing to build a large enterprise that is no less large than the Jinsha Steel Plant.

Relevant preparatory work and factory construction approval reports have been submitted.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu issued a direct imperial decree to these Chinese investors who were looking to enter heavy industry: "Open the door, introduce competition, and promote the healthy development of industry."

Heavy industry is not a highly profitable industry and it mostly relies on volume to win.

The real golden goose of Chu Heavy Industry is the copper smelter. Today, Nanyang Heavy Industries and Cebu Heavy Industries are the two leading enterprises, and their copper smelting capacity is increasing steadily.

Today, the annual production capacity has reached 3.8 tons, and this figure is still rising rapidly, bringing a steady stream of huge wealth to the Chu royal family and finances.

The output of 3.8 tons of copper is worth more than 800 million silver dollars, which is an absolute financial pillar.

The same amount of steel is worth less than 40 silver dollars, which is a huge difference. However, steel production can drive a large number of downstream industries and create tens of thousands of jobs.

This is an advantage that the copper industry cannot achieve. It can be said that there are pros and cons to each.

(End of this chapter)