Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 364 Consideration
The huge interests affected people's hearts. Even Governor He Xian, who was in a high position, could not escape the temptation and expressed his hope to keep more interests in the local area.

This aroused the vigilance of King Zheng Guohui of Chu, who immediately decided to transfer the security of the oil field to the Royal Guard Division and arrange only one regiment.

No one from any place is allowed to interfere in oil field affairs.

a

King Zheng Guohui of Chu visited Kuching, an ancient city with hundreds of years of history. The ruins and temples in the city are very Nanyang style. The palace where he stayed was the former Sarawak Royal Palace, which has a strong sense of historical vicissitudes.

The Kingdom of Brunei is also very aggrieved. More than a hundred years ago, it was a powerful indigenous kingdom that ruled the island of Kalimantan, but due to the colonial erosion of the Dutch and British, its territory shrank rapidly.

The Kingdom of Sarawak was a free and easy kingdom established by white colonists.

In 1839, British Captain James Brooke was commissioned by the British East India Company to go to Brunei, under the pretext of "thanking the Sultan of Brunei for helping fight pirates", but in fact he was just going there to explore for minerals.

This man was eloquent and won the trust of the Sultan of Brunei, allowing him to help him fight against the Sarawak prince who had repeatedly shown separatist tendencies.

Although Captain Brooke had only one ship, 1 sailors and six cannons, he defeated thousands of indigenous rebels. In the face of powerful ships and cannons, swords and spears had no chance of winning.

Later, Brooke thought, beating the natives is like playing, why should he listen to the so-called Sultan of Brunei?

So in 1841, Captain Brooke used force to force the Sultan of Brunei to recognize his status as "Rajah" (monarch).

that's it

Captain Brooke established the Kingdom of Sarawak and became king as a white man, gradually giving rise to the Brooke royal family.

After that, the Kingdom of Sarawak gradually encroached on Brunei's territory. This is really a case of keeping a tiger out of the front door and letting a wolf in through the back door. Ultimately, it was the disaster caused by its weak strength.

During the armistice and peace negotiations in March, the British negotiators raised the issue of the Brooke Kingdom many times, but were all rejected by the Chu side.

The State of Chu believed that this was collateral damage caused by war and was unavoidable.

If they wanted to break things down one by one and talk about it slowly, the Chu State could also send a war incident investigation team to look into the fall of the Sarawak Kingdom and the death of the Brooke family in the turmoil.

However, due to the turmoil during the war, a large number of civilians and local indigenous princes and nobles died in the war, making it difficult to find out anything.

Either a comprehensive solution is adopted, in which case the damage and losses caused by the war will no longer be pursued, and the grudge will be completely and thoroughly resolved.

Either there is no need to talk, or both sides start fighting until one side surrenders.

Taking multiple factors into consideration
In the end, under the strong attitude of the Chu State, the British and French negotiators were forced to make major concessions on many aspects of the peace terms.

The two warring parties were finally able to conclude a ceasefire agreement, which was actually an absolute victory for the Chu State and there was not much exaggeration.

Looking out from the study window of King Zheng Guohui of Chu, not far away is the Borobudur Temple with a very Javanese style. Due to its long history, the ancient and exquisite carvings have turned gray and black.

But judging from its unique shape, it still has a very Nanyang-style religious beauty.

The indigenous totems believed in by these early kingdoms had long been replaced by the later invading Islam. It was quite rare that Borobudur was able to survive without being destroyed.

nowadays

The city of Kuching was completely occupied by the Chinese. As the city expanded, Chinese temples and Taoist temples also appeared, accepting incense and worship from believers.

During the more than 20 days of inspection tours in the south, no matter where I went, even to remote villages, or at the village entrance, or on the mountain, there were always city god temples and land god temples of all sizes.

The Chinese immigrants who went to Southeast Asia placed their longing for their homeland in their faith and were very enthusiastic about building temples and Taoist temples.

It was really a case of people contributing money and manpower, so that countless temples and Taoist temples appeared in the territory of Chu State, and incense and sacrifices were offered there on weekdays.

In a trance, people would mistakenly believe that Chinese people have lived widely in this world for hundreds of years or even longer, which is exactly in line with the true meaning of "emptying the cage and replacing the bird".

The historical truth is not important. What is important is who truly controls this vast land?
King Zheng Guohui of Chu has ordered some Chinese studies masters from universities to form a research team to explore the "migration of Chinese ancestors to Southeast Asia" in preparation for compiling historical facts in the future.

What stands out is that "Chinese ancestors were numerous and widespread, and hundreds of years ago they brought advanced Chinese civilization and spread it widely to the Nanyang region, letting the light of civilization shine on Nanyang, educating the barbarians and turning their hearts to the Great Chu" and so on.

It is not a big problem that the State of Chu did not have a profound historical heritage. With thousands of years of Chinese civilization history, isn't it normal for one or two branches of civilization to develop?

The Fuso people spread Chinese civilization and developed the unique Japanese civilization.

The Kingdom of Korea inherited Chinese civilization and developed Korean civilization by combining it with the characteristics of the peninsula.

The Kingdom of Vietnam inherited Chinese civilization and claimed to be the biological son of China, but this is actually a big mistake.

The true Chu civilization is the authentic inheritance of Chinese civilization, becoming a branch of Chinese civilization in Southeast Asia, integrating Chinese and Western characteristics to create the unique Chu civilization.

Well, that’s roughly what it means.

The history of the Chinese ancestors who drifted to Southeast Asia can be traced back as far as possible, such as the existence of an army during the Qin and Han dynasties, which is also very important.

In this way, the State of Chu instantly had a history of more than 2,000 years.

Korea's history dates back to the Warring States Period, when Jizi was a child. Fusang also has a legend about three thousand young boys and girls crossing the sea to Fusang during the reign of Qin Shi Huang. Vietnam also established Jiaozhi Commandery during the Qin Shi Huang period.

Then the State of Chu could not fall behind, and at least it had to find an ancestor from the Qin and Han dynasties to decorate its facade.

As for who to look for specifically?

Let the masters of Chinese studies worry about it. King Zheng Guohui of Chu is only responsible for issuing orders and pointing out the general direction.

Specifically, we need the following people to improve, fill in the gaps, and find historical basis. Otherwise, what are these people doing?
Watching the children of the early Chinese immigrants in 1864 grow up healthily, the oldest one is already 6 years old and is about to go to school.

By the beginning of next year, the relevant Chinese and history textbooks will be compiled to enlighten children. We can't let children be without books to read.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu walked along the flower path with his hands behind his back, admiring the beautiful scenery of the garden with clusters of flowers, feeling particularly relaxed.

The kingdom made every effort to promote the development of steam industrialization. With the support of abundant funds, it made rapid progress in small steps and its development momentum was quite encouraging.

The immigration and settlement policy, which is equivalent to a national policy, has been implemented day by day for many years. The kingdom's resources and manpower have been tilted towards this aspect, striving to provide proper resettlement for Chinese immigrants.

These two aspects are continuously advancing and deepening their development.

Therefore, strengthening patriotic education for the people, imparting correct historical perspectives and values ​​to children from an early age, and teaching them the concepts of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, becomes the highlight of the ideological and cultural field.

As early as the Chongming Island period, King Zheng Guohui of Chu arranged to adopt a large number of homeless teenagers, most of whom were between 9 and 13 years old, both boys and girls, and the total number has reached as high as to date.

These young people who have been educated in loyalty for a long time, some of them entered military academies for further studies when they grew up, the outstanding ones were sent to universities for further studies, the ordinary ones entered factories and mines, and some received teacher education.

Starting from the second half of this year

As primary schools in various prefectures and counties are completed one after another, these young educators will take on new positions and contribute to the great cause of educating a new generation of the kingdom.

Compared with students from ordinary schools, King Zheng Guohui of Chu believed that these orphans originally educated by the "Tzu Chi Association" would implement the educational concept of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism without compromise.

These young men were added to the Royal Guard Division and made their mark with their fanatical worship of His Majesty the King of Chu. They were known as the "King's Personal Guards" and were young people full of enthusiasm and energy.

Thought of here
King Zheng Guohui of Chu couldn't help but smile. With the vast Shenzhou continent behind him and almost endless human resources, he felt particularly at ease.

What’s the point of small European countries like Spain and the Netherlands having a large territory?
The Dutch immigrated hundreds of people to their East Indies colonies every year, which was really exciting, but year after year, more people stayed than left.

Most white children who grew up in the East Indies colonies, once they had some success, wanted to return to Europe, which was their homeland that they longed for.

The colonial achievements of the Chu State in one month were equivalent to the Dutch’s one hundred years of painstaking colonial achievements, and far exceeded them.

Ultimately, colonial expansion depends on people.

After visiting so many rural towns and villages during this period, King Zheng Guohui of Chu has become somewhat aesthetically fatigued. In fact, they are all pretty much the same.

Rural conditions in prefectures and counties that have been colonized for a longer time are obviously better.

For example, in some prefectures and counties on the Tongzhou Islands, the countryside is filled with children running around in large groups, making the village full of the flavor of life.

Every household has a spacious house, some are wooden, some are brick and tile, and there are also a large number of adobe houses with thatched roofs, but everyone's face is glowing.

Although his clothes had some patches, they were not patched up one on top of another. He looked ragged and his face was pale and skinny.

It can be seen that
Most of the Chinese immigrants in the village could eat their fill, and some wealthy families even had quite good food. The children grew up strong and plump, and they ran all the way following the carriage team entering the village without any fear.

Pig farmers are very common in the village. If you go to the pigpen, you will see that there are very few skinny pigs. Most of the pigs are plump and in good condition.

This incidates that
As long as farmers take good care of them, most of these domestic pigs grow well. In addition to pig grass, pig feed is often mixed with sweet potato vines, bean dregs and wheat bran.

Without these nutritious pig feeds, domestic pigs cannot grow fat.

From this point of view alone, the farmers' situation will naturally not be bad.

Every household raises chickens and ducks, and some wealthy families also raise cows, horses, and mules. On ordinary days, they can earn some money by harnessing ox carts or mule carts to transport rice for their fellow villagers and neighbors.

These newly built villages and towns are all planned, with straight roads. There is usually a village temple in the center of the village and a small square that can be used as a wheat drying ground during harvest. The most notable feature is the presence of several large stone mills.

In the less developed immigrant villages, most of the houses are made of adobe and straw, and the living conditions of the families are a little bit difficult.

Some two households shared a water tank and an iron pot, and newborn babies were held naked in their arms without even two sets of clothes.

Most families do not raise pigs, but every household raises chickens, and they raise quite a few.

Some have a dozen chickens, while others have dozens or even hundreds of chickens. These Chinese farmers all have happy smiles on their faces.

After the immigrants settled down, they were able to have enough food to eat and save some grain and money, which gave them a sense of purpose in life.

Compared with the original displaced life of refugees, these Chinese immigrants who have emerged from hardship are quite content and know how to be grateful.

Almost every household of Chinese immigrants hangs an image of the King of Chu in the main hall. Those who have incense burners light it, while those who don’t have one make a pile of dirt. This thoughtful gesture is enough.

After visiting so many grassroots places and meeting a large number of prefecture and county officials, I am basically satisfied with the immigration and settlement situation.

Of course, there were also local officials who made King Zheng Guohui of Chu furious. They would be dismissed on the spot and investigated, and would never be re-employed again.

There are mediocre officials everywhere, the key is whether they can work diligently.

The Chu State's colonization measures were very detailed, compiled into detailed rules and distributed to every official in the form of picture books.

For every situation, there is a targeted solution.

This is a feasible method summarized during the long process of colonization and reclamation, and it is very easy to promote and implement.

As long as you do it seriously, there is generally no chance of anything going wrong.

For example, unclean drinking water causes diarrhea, illness, and even casualties among local villagers.

This can be solved by digging wells, building dams to store water, and drawing water from nearby rivers with running water. At the same time, attention should be paid to the possibility of livestock defecating and urinating anywhere to pollute water sources.

The territory of Chu State is located in a tropical archipelago with abundant sunshine, abundant rainfall and high groundwater level.

As long as you drill down about ten meters, you can generally dig a sweet water well.

Three or four strong laborers can dig with shovels for two days and basically dig a pretty good well to solve the villagers' daily drinking water problem.

If these measures are not in place, it means that the officials are lazy, do not pay attention to people's livelihood, and still put themselves in a superior position.

For such officials, the Chu State had an official auditing and evaluation system, with constraints from the prefecture and county councils, and an Inspection General Office to initiate impeachment and investigation against officials for corruption, laziness and inaction. This system worked quite well.

In the next step, King Zheng Guohui of Chu also plans to introduce an independent prosecutor system, setting up independent prosecutor offices at the prefecture and county levels, where ordinary citizens can report officials.

Once verified, prosecution can be brought.

This is a supervision mechanism for all public officials. If it is implemented, it will definitely cause complaints from the official class.

But this was not what King Zheng Guohui of Chu considered. If the sapling was not pruned and kept straight, it would become more crooked as it grew.

As an emerging kingdom, Chu was drawing on a blank sheet of paper. The more restrictions and supervision on officials, the better, and the easier it would be to implement and enforce.

Once the bad habits of corruption are formed and spread like a virus, it will be too late to take measures.

(End of this chapter)