Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 375: Don’t Raise an Army Out of Anger

Over there

The Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, which received Liu Liangguan's urgent request for help, did not take no action. In just two days, it urgently mobilized more than 2 Dutch troops and some supplies to go on the expedition.

Early morning of the third day

A fleet of more than 20 sailing cargo ships and troop transports, under the cover of more than 10 large and small sailing warships of the Royal Netherlands Navy, sailed towards Pontianak.

These more than 1820 Dutch troops were only the first batch. The Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies continued to urgently recruit troops, planning to gradually mobilize more than troops from Sumatra, Surabaya and Bandung to rescue Lan Fang from its crisis.

The Governor-General's Office of the Dutch East Indies has been coveting Lan Fang for decades, from the collection of head tax and opium tax in 1822 to the present, it has been nearly half a century.

In the eyes of these Dutch people, they had already regarded the Kingdom of Lan Fang as their own, so how could they allow others to get involved?

two days later

The Dutch task force was sailing towards the sea near West Kalimantan Province when they were stopped by a clipper ship, which reported the latest situation.
The Lan Fang Grand National Assembly issued a telegram on October 10st declaring:

From now on
All the territories under the jurisdiction of this country were subject to the Great Chu Kingdom, the original system was abolished, and it accepted to become the Lanfang Prefecture of the Chu State, which was divided into two prefectures and seven counties. The King of Chu was respected as the national monarch, and the goal of great harmony among the Chinese in Southeast Asia was realized.

The two prefectures of Lan Fang State are Singkawang and Pontianak, and the seven districts are East Banlu, Lan La, Dai Yan, San Phat, Sematan, Mengkajang and Sangkao.

Soon after the telegram was sent, the Chu government sent an enthusiastic reply, publicly announcing its acceptance of the Lan Fang Kingdom's allegiance, stating that "this is a wise and correct decision that will surely contribute to a bright future for the Chinese in Southeast Asia. It is cause for celebration."

Hearing this shocking news

This completely confused the Dutch fleet's commander-in-chief, Major General Stefan van Dyck. After consulting with a group of senior officers around him, he announced that the task force would sail to the nearby port of Jeddah.

He immediately sent a speedboat back to Batavia to report the latest emergency news to the Governor's Office and ask for instructions on the next steps.

The situation in this area is like a kaleidoscope, changing so quickly that it is almost impossible to cope with it.

If the Dutch army continued to advance towards Pontianak, it would mean declaring war on the State of Chu.

Considering the seriousness of the matter, the commander-in-chief of the task force, Major General Stefan van Dyke, decided to play it safe and pass the latest news back first and then follow the arrangements of the Governor's Office.

On a troop transport ship in the task force, Liu Liangguan was making promises to several Chinese leaders who had gathered together, saying that if the counterattack on the Lan Fang Kingdom was successful, they would all enjoy wealth and glory.

Unexpectedly, as they were talking, the fleet turned around and headed east, heading towards Jeddah Port.

This time, Liu Liangguan was completely confused and had no idea what to do.

The Liu family also had great influence in Batavia and was on good terms with many large Chinese families. When they urgently sought help from the Dutch, they also sought help from the local Chinese families.

These major Chinese families also gave face and gathered more than 2 elite soldiers in just two days. They were all Chinese militia armed with muskets and marched north with the Dutch army.

Seeing the fleet turning, the expressions of the representatives of these major Chinese families changed. They secretly exchanged glances with each other and then hid aside to discuss.

See this scene
Liu Liangguan was really anxious and angry, but due to the lack of information, he didn't know what had happened and could only wait until he arrived at the port.

No one expected that in just ten days, the Lan Fang Kingdom had become history and the ownership of that land had changed drastically. It was so fast.

Looking back
When Liu Asheng and others learned the news, it was three days later. The Dagang army had already invaded Montuladu and Sanfa and occupied the important northern town of Singkawang.

Liu Asheng immediately ordered Liu Liangguan and his party to go to Batavia for help, and return within one week, which was almost the fastest speed.

From the time we went south to seek help to October 10st, it was only 1 days.

Liu Liangguan and his party went to Batavia for help. The distance between Pontianak and Batavia is more than 1170 kilometers, and it takes two days and two nights to sail, about 55 hours, which is an indispensable time.

After arriving safely, he went through some twists and turns before meeting the Dutch Governor Sir Barbour-Verbruggen, and reported the emergency incident in Lan Fang Kingdom and requested reinforcements.

After hearing this, the Dutch Governor-General Sir Barbour-Verbruggen realized the seriousness of the situation and without much delay, he immediately summoned senior officials from the Governor's Office to discuss countermeasures and made the decision to send troops quickly.

In view of the late hour and the time required to mobilize the troops and supplies, Liu Liangguan and his party were arranged to come to the Governor's Mansion for questioning two days later.

Just like that, three days passed.

It took the Dutch another two days to gather troops and prepare supplies and ships. It was already the sixth day when the task force set out north.

At this time, Pontianak was completely under the control of the Dagang Army, and the Lan Fang Kingdom was officially declared extinct.

By some strange coincidence, within just one or two days, the situation was completely different from when Liu Liangguan left.

It was originally a domestic rebellion suppressed by Lan Fang, but now it has become a dispute between two countries, and that old land has become part of the Great Chu Kingdom.

The changes in the situation in Southeast Asia immediately alerted the British Straits Governor's Office, which telegraphed the British ambassador in Manila to find out the reason. After finding out, the ambassador remained silent.

Damn it, they are expanding without even saying hello, they are just fooling around!

However, considering the tense situation in Europe and the current good relations with the State of Chu, the Governor-General's Office of the British Channel bared its teeth and quickly reported this development to the Prime Minister's Office in Downing Street for decision-making.

It’s better not to get involved in such troublesome things.

Sure enough, within a few days

The special envoy of the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies arrived in Singapore and requested urgent consultations with the British Governor-General. At the same time, he invited diplomatic representatives from France, Germany, Russia and the United States to participate, demanding that they take a unified stance and strongly condemn the Chu State's brazen expansionist actions in West Kalimantan.

However, this action was strongly opposed by the Chinese envoys of the Chu State in Singapore and ultimately failed to achieve its goal.

What is the current situation in various countries?
Be it Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary or the United States, none of them wanted to make enemies with Chu because of this. The former did so because of the problem of military supplies preparation. After all, all diplomatic affairs were centered around Europe.

The French were particularly disdainful and were the first to wave goodbye.

Today, the French hatred for Germany is deep-rooted. Even in their overseas colonies, they are unwilling to sit at the same table with the Germans, let alone take concerted action.

Today, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire do not have any decent colonies in the South Seas and East Asia. Their main interests lie in the strategic materials supplied by the Chu State, so they naturally do not want to offend the supplier.

After saying a few bland words like "regret", "this is an internal choice of the Chinese community", and "sorry, it is inconvenient to interfere", they said goodbye and left one after another.

The Americans were unwilling to make enemies with the Chu State because the Pacific routes were controlled by the Chu State and their trade routes to the East were always restricted.

When the Dutch envoy cast his last hope towards the British, Wijnaldum, secretary to the Governor of the Straits Settlements, shrugged helplessly and said lightly:

"Regarding the bilateral dispute between your country and the State of Chu, the British side is willing to mediate in good faith to prevent the regional situation from deteriorating and affecting normal trade exchanges.

I have a piece of advice

It is best to resolve bilateral disputes rationally and avoid developing into the worst case scenario. That is definitely not the right choice.

That’s all I have to say, good luck to you all! ”

After more than ten days of emergency diplomatic mediation, the Dutch side only got such a result, which made them very angry, but they could do nothing about it.

The attempt to get European countries to endorse it was completely shattered, and the rest of the journey had to be walked by the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies on its own.

September 9th, 2025

Manila, Chu Palace

Inside the Zichen Hall
The Chief Minister of the Cabinet, Li Hezhang, led a group of ministers to meet His Majesty the King of Chu, and then sat on the left and right of the palace. Each minister had a short case in front of him, where they could place memorials and materials that needed to be reported.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu sat high on the Nine Dragon Throne. This was the weekly royal meeting in the Purple Palace. They discussed national affairs and important government affairs concerning people's livelihood.

Two proposals have just been passed:
One was the five-yearly change of leadership in the Grand Council, which was due to expire at the end of 1871. The term of office was to officially begin on January 5, 1872, with more than a month left.

This has been approved by His Majesty the King of Chu. The Chief Minister of the Cabinet, Li Hezhang, will continue to lead the formation of the second cabinet of Chu. It needs to be submitted to the emperor for approval.

Nowadays, this era
The Chu State promoted and implemented the "Citizen Election Law" and successively established parliamentary systems at the national, prefectural and county levels, which played a good role in supervising the government and participating in politics.

However, due to the short time, the national, provincial and county councils are filled with retired soldiers with service experience, aristocrats and gentry, with only a small number of representatives from academia and factories and mines, who are basically the government's yes-men, and their checks and balances role is not yet prominent.

The concept of "democratic governance" still needs a long period of exposure and requires the cultivation of the electoral awareness and sense of responsibility of the general public. This will be a task of 20 to 30 years or even longer, and cannot be achieved overnight.

This was reflected in the cabinet transition, with the King of Chu appointing the Prime Minister, who then formed the second Royal Government and presented it to His Majesty for approval. Another proposal, regarding the approval of a bill regarding the four states of East Malaya, established Lan Fang as part of the Kingdom's mainland, requiring all future industrial policies to be implemented in accordance with the local context.

After the merger of Lanfang Prefecture, the population of Chu State instantly increased by 144 million, which meant that the country's strength was further strengthened.

According to the statistics at the end of June 1871, the total population during the period was 6 million (note, excluding children under the age of 1377.6 and the number of indigenous convicts). Adding these 7 million, the total population of the kingdom will reach 144 million.

Actually

The total amount is not limited to this. From the end of June to the end of October, another 6 months have passed.

以每个月超过20万人的移民数量，以及每个月新增登记的年满7岁的儿童人口，月均2.7~2.9万之间，4个月又超过了10万。

All added up, the total population of Chu State has already exceeded 1600 million and continues to show a rapid growth momentum.

By the end of the year
The total population should be between 1655 million and 1660 million, which has already shown the appearance of a major power in the South China Sea region.

This is also the reason why the Chu State never exported grain on a large scale despite the year-on-year land reclamation and the soaring grain production.

There are nearly two to three million new immigrants every year, and they consume a lot of food. It takes a long time from settling down to production, which takes at least half a year.

In addition, the fierce battle with the British and French forces three years ago not only exhausted the accumulated war reserves, but also consumed most of the food reserves. These debts must be repaid.

At that time, millions of people were off work for training and active preparation for war. Even if they only ate enough for a month or two, the country's strategic grain reserves would be depleted.

Although the war was over, a large number of earthen ramparts and bunkers built during the war preparations were still there in almost every village and town. These earthen ramparts and bunkers were not demolished, and at most they were opened to facilitate road traffic.

As a village and town defense facility, it is quite useful.

In the main hall

Compared with the imperial court in northern Shenzhou, the Chu State's imperial court meetings were much more relaxed. Not only did the ministers have seats and desks, but each desk also had a teacup, which was refilled with water by the palace male servants.

But also pay attention

You must not make loud noises when drinking water, otherwise the imperial guards will scold you in court. "Improper etiquette in front of the emperor" is a mistake and you will be fined at least half a month's salary.

After discussing these two items, King Zheng Guohui of Chu picked up the teacup on the imperial desk and took two sips on his own, looking extremely calm.

The Foreign Minister, Earl Zheng Xin, coughed lightly, stood up, and bowed slightly to his attendants. He then walked to the central courtyard with the memorial in hand. He clasped his hands together, bowed deeply to the ground, and said, "Your Majesty, I have this memorial."

"No need to be polite, just come up and play."

"I obey your command. After the Lan Fang Incident, the Dutch diplomatic envoys repeatedly lodged strong protests. After repeated negotiations failed, they resorted to rude and oppressive actions against the Chinese community, which became increasingly severe."

"Since this is true, my dear Zheng, please tell me in detail." King Zheng Guohui of Chu frowned and ordered.

Zheng Xin's expression grew serious. He clasped his fists and bowed again, then unfolded the memorial in his hand, looked at it, and said:

On November 11, the day after Singapore's international diplomatic mediation broke down, the Governor-General of the East Indies issued the "Act to Restrict the Engagement of Chinese in Mining and Transport," the "Act to Restrict the Importation of Chinese," and the "Act to Restrict the Chinese Head Tax," collectively known as the "Three Evil Laws."

Prior to this, the Dutch colonial government had further tightened its grip on the Chinese by restricting them from purchasing land and property, and restricting them from operating plantations, and severely exploiting the Chinese expatriates.

Even the mining rights and transportation company operating rights that were originally obtained legally are now being forcibly reclaimed, which has caused many conflicts throughout the East Indies.

The Dutch colonial government's military and police enforced the law brutally, beating, detaining and even killing Chinese people in response to more than a dozen incidents of Chinese people gathering to defend their rights. This resulted in more than 140 deaths and injuries, including 17 fatalities and more than 20 serious injuries.

Our diplomatic envoys strongly condemn the Dutch side's brutal behavior. Several rounds of negotiations have been fruitless and have instead made the current situation escalate. We hereby submit this report.

The interests of overseas Chinese are related to a country's prestige and should not be neglected."

As soon as he finished speaking, the cabinet ministers and military generals around him became angry and spoke out to condemn him.

Wu Qingfeng, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, was a representative of the hardliners. He suddenly stood up, raised his hands and clasped his fists, saying, "How could a mere Red Barbarian be so rampant? I beg Your Majesty to take decisive action and send troops to protect the interests of our overseas Chinese. This will deter the Red Barbarians and prevent them from taking any rash action."

"I second the proposal."

"After only three years, these foreigners have already decided that the swords of the Great Chu are no longer effective. It is time to teach them a severe lesson. I second the motion."

"I don't object to taking tough measures, but shouldn't we use courtesy before force? I believe it's best to conduct diplomatic mediation first. It makes sense both morally and logically."

"This is the advice of an old minister for the sake of state, and I second it."

Looking at the indignant expressions of the ministers below, King Zheng Guohui of Chu, who was sitting on the golden Nine Dragon Throne, felt quite pleased. These were all his trusted ministers, and their words and actions were in line with the emperor's wishes.

Almost all the ministers agreed to send troops, but some were more tactful, while others were simply impatient. Who doesn't know that expanding territory is the greatest achievement?

They are not sad and angry about the damage to the interests of overseas Chinese. There are so many unequal things happening in the northern part of China, but no one has jumped out and shouted for a "Northern Expedition to China".

This is a forbidden area that no one dares to touch.

But going south is different. The direction of Chu's expansion is "eastward" and "southward". This is a national plan personally formulated by His Majesty the King and will not change for at least half a century.

The Netherlands is a poor country in Europe. Instead of guarding its own business carefully, it dares to show its teeth to the State of Chu. How long should we wait to teach it a lesson?
If you miss the excuse for war given by the enemy, it would be an irresponsible act to the bright future of your family, and you will have to kneel in the ancestral hall when you return.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was the leader who was most keen on colonial expansion. Naturally, all the trusted ministers he brought with him were ambitious.

In the entire court, there was not a single minister who was willing to persuade the Dutch governor to stop fighting and was prepared to engage in a patient and sincere dialogue with him to urge him to change his ways.

Prime Minister Li Hezhang sighed slightly in his heart. Seeing the King of Chu's gaze turned towards him, he stood up and made a downward gesture with both hands, saying:
"What you are discussing is nothing more than the difference between fighting now and talking first and then fighting. It seems too hasty."

Prime Minister Li Hezhang stepped out of his seat, stood up, clasped his hands together, bowed deeply and respectfully to the throne, and said in a solemn voice:

"Your Majesty

The most important affairs of a state are war and sacrifice.

There is also an old saying: Never start a war out of anger.

The Dutch's irrational behavior this time reveals their stupidity and arrogance. The more serious the harm, the more beneficial it will be for our Great Chu to win the hearts of the people.

In this case, we can invite Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Austria-Hungary and other countries to participate and jointly condemn their evil behavior of not complying with the Convention on Expatriates and blatantly tearing up their promises, and make it known to the world.

The longer the sedimentation lasts, the wider the fermentation will spread, which will be more beneficial to us.

With the help of covert means, we support the Chinese armed forces in the colonial areas of central and southern Kalimantan to become self-reliant and strong.

The intention is to overthrow the illegal rule of the Dutch. If our Chu State uses force to restrain the Dutch from deploying large numbers of troops to suppress the people, then great things can be accomplished.

The brutal rule of the white people is unpopular. This is a just act for the oppressed Chinese people in the colonies, and our Chu State should fully support it.

In this way

"We are in an invincible position, able to attack when advancing and defend when retreating, and can handle everything with ease. I respectfully ask Your Majesty to understand this."

After hearing this response, King Zheng Guohui of Chu on the throne could not help but nod repeatedly.

Experience is always better than cure. Although this approach takes a longer time, it provides more room for maneuver and is less likely to arouse the vigilance and resentment of the British and French powers. It has many advantages.

Don't think that the State of Chu can occupy any place at will. That is the exclusive right of the British and French powers, and no one else can enjoy it.

The benefit of doing this is that it allows the British and French powers to fully participate and feel respected, and their desire for active performance and sense of participation are all satisfied.

After all, the Dutch participated in the relevant negotiations and signed a treaty to protect the interests of expatriates. It was unreasonable for them to tear it up so brazenly, and it was reasonable for them to be retaliated against.

The Dutch were originally bandits, and their way of thinking was also that of bandit logic. They were still immersed in the glory of the former "Sea Coachman" and could not clearly judge the situation.

The Dutch took the initiative to talk to him, thinking that Chu was afraid of him.

Upon thinking this, King Zheng Guohui of Chu smiled and nodded in agreement, saying:
"What the Prime Minister said is very good, so let's act accordingly. If there are no other proposals, we will stop here today." After saying that, he stood up, walked down the stairs and walked towards the back of the palace.

"Your Majesty, your servants respectfully bid you farewell. Long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty!"

(End of this chapter)