Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 391 Fusang's Unique Resources

"Fuso's future path to colonization and industrial development begins with the Korean Peninsula. Only by occupying a forward base on the northern continent can we further expand into Manchuria and Mongolia and realize the great cause of the Fuso Empire's revival. Please work hard, please!" Ito Hirobumi was a firm believer in moving north, and his words and deeds could not avoid the Korean Peninsula.

After hearing his words, the core elites of the reformists present all looked heavy-hearted. The situation on the Korean Peninsula was indeed too difficult.

Seeing that the State of Chu was making rapid progress in the Nanyang region and South America, and expanding its territory was as easy as eating and drinking, he felt seriously unbalanced.

After the civil war ended, Fuso immediately began its forceful infiltration into the Korean Peninsula.

However, they encountered many obstacles. The pro-China forces in the Kingdom of Joseon dominated the court. They were deeply influenced by Chinese culture and looked down on the Japanese.

If we say that the Celestial Empire is a country of great wealth and natural resources, and a country of etiquette, its poetry, books, rituals and morals all inspire admiration in people.

Then the Fuso country is a bunch of rotten apricots, aggressive and aggressive, with scarce resources. It is like the Fuso Japanese pirates who are even worse than Korea and are completely unworthy of being on the stage.

How to choose is self-evident.

This view, widely held among the North Korean people, makes it extremely difficult for Fuso to infiltrate. After several years of hard work, there has been little effect, and it is unlikely to be a short-term success.

Some people also suggested solving the problem by force. This is certainly the fastest and most profitable method, but it requires preparation for war with the northern superpower.

this age
As vassal states of the northern great power, the Kingdom of Korea and the Kingdom of Vietnam had imperial troops stationed in their territories and occupied strategic mountainous geographical locations.

With Tsarist Russia and the Russian bear eyeing us covetously from the north, and the tiny Korean Peninsula full of swords and sabers, it was a hellish start, and the difficulty was extremely great.

With the current national strength of Fuso, it is not yet ready for a full-scale war with the northern superpower, so we can only wait and see.

When talking about the Chu State's colonial layout in Central and South America, everyone in the room was envious, but they could only drool from afar.

"After all, he was a general trained by the Celestial Empire. His vision is so sharp that it is incomparable to ordinary people. We are no match for him." Ito Hirobumi sighed helplessly.

The Fuso Kingdom had neither the strength nor the courage to invade the vast Pacific islands on a large scale, and now they have all fallen into the hands of the Chu State, which is really enviable.

The Pacific shipping routes were completely controlled by the Chu State, which of course brought many benefits.

The Chu State could have unimpeded access to the Pacific routes and continuously transport Chinese immigrants to Central and South America. What would the situation be like after 10, 20, or 30 years?
If even one percent of the huge population of Northern China were to be transferred out, that would be three to four million people, enough to change the social demographic structure of Central and South America.

According to the intelligence from Fuso
By the end of this year

The population of the Hawaiian Islands, which belonged to the Chu State, would reach one million, the Chinese population in Central America would be about 28, and the Chinese population in South America would be about 40. This number is quite large.

This was not the most worrying thing for the Meiji Restoration elites in Fuso. What they were most worried about was that the Chu State vigorously developed the power of the Royal Navy fleet and gradually formed a maritime hegemony in East Asia and the South China Sea.

This triggered a strong sense of crisis in Fuso, and the proposal to order new ironclad ships from Britain was immediately put on the agenda.

However, due to financial constraints, the core of Fuso's proposed three-year naval revitalization plan is to purchase three British ironclad cruisers, namely "Kongō" and "Hiei", and another small ironclad ship at a price of 43.4 pounds.

This amount of money is equivalent to 178 million taels of silver, which is worth 178 million US dollars. It can be said that he spent a lot of money.

The "King Kong" was an early second-class ironclad ship with a displacement of 2250 tons, iron ribs, wooden hull, and external armor. Its main guns consisted of three 170mm Krupp cannons, six 150mm Krupp cannons, and several secondary guns. Its speed was 6 knots.

Inspired by the large main ironclad warship launched by the State of Chu, the State of Fuso began to promote the Fuso Navy Revitalization Plan two years earlier than in history.

The core of this is the purchase of the Kongo ship.

After secret discussions, this group of reformist elites reached a consensus:

If Fuso wants to achieve the rejuvenation of the Yamato nation, it must promote a comprehensive Westernization strategy, namely the "de-Asianization and Europeanization" strategy.

If the strategy of “leaving Asia and joining Europe” is to be achieved, “colonial development” is the only way forward.

Due to the inherent geographical limitations of the island nation of Fuso, developing a strong regional navy is necessary and indispensable if it wants to promote "colonial development".

In his final concluding remarks, Yoshida Shoin said passionately:

"Now that you've decided to embark on this bumpy and thorny road of development, please continue unwaveringly until you achieve the revitalization of the Yamato nation. Please!"

"Hey, if the Chu State can do it, my Yamato nation can do it too."

"With the blessing of Amaterasu, the colonization and industrial development will surely succeed."

During this secret meeting, given the resource-poor state of Fuso Island, these Meiji Restoration elites decided to export a large number of women to Southeast Asia, becoming known as "Nanyang women." This was intended to accumulate initial capital for industrialization. These Meiji Restoration elites were quite imaginative, believing that just as the Chu Kingdom mined resources, the women of Fuso were also resources that could be effectively utilized.

There are a large number of single male Chinese and Indian laborers in cities across Southeast Asia, including the Chu State. They are widely spread across important towns such as Manila, Batangas, Davao, Singapore, Penang, Batavia, Bangkok, Saigon, etc. After hard work, their restless bodies have a strong need to vent.

The Meiji Restoration elites grasped this point precisely and proposed a strategy to send a large number of young Japanese women to Southeast Asia to earn precious silver and achieve industrial revitalization in Japan.

This marked the beginning of a huge business where millions of Japanese women went to Southeast Asia to make money, and the business became a huge success that became unstoppable.

The former Dutch-occupied area in southern Kalimantan

After more than half a year of integration, the "Canada Democratic United Autonomous Association" was formed here. All important towns acted in unison under the banner of the United Autonomous Association, deliberately downplaying the Chinese-dominated color.

Although this place nominally belonged to the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, it had actually lost its autonomy and was under the indirect rule of the Chu State.

Because the name is not right, the words are not smooth.

The Chu State did not set up government agencies such as prefectures and counties in the local area, but cleverly changed the name and used the Democratic United Autonomous Association instead.

For example, the Samarinda branch, Balikpapan branch, Banjarmasin branch, etc., have a complete set of branch agencies, covering taxation, police, business administration, industrial development and other items.

The police, for example, exist in the form of chapter militias.

These militiamen who were responsible for police duties wore the uniforms of Chu soldiers, except that they did not have cap badges or military ranks. Instead, they wore armbands representing the United Federation, and performed daily police duties.

The managers of these local united autonomous associations were directly dispatched by the Chu State's Colonial Department. Most of them were highly experienced colonial officials, university graduates from the Manila Administrative College, military academy graduates, and colonial officials transferred from other regions, forming a young and dynamic colonial organization.

In the southern Borneo island region, the Chu State's laws, colonial regulations and administrative governance methods were fully implemented. This is a set of colonial methods that have been proven to be very effective.

it's here

Convicts building bridges and roads could be seen everywhere. Large numbers of shacks and mud houses in the city were demolished, and lumber mills, cement plants, rice mills, oil presses, brick kilns and coal kilns were built one after another, giving the city a brand new look.

Many towns began to dig and build sewer ditches, which was a necessary infrastructure for the construction of Chu towns. Since it was located in a tropical and rainy area, such infrastructure was indispensable.

Early Dutch colonial period

The Dutch never built these urban infrastructures, neither roads nor bridges, let alone railways or docks. Everything looked like a primitive agricultural society.

The Dutch only exploited their colonies without investing in them, and they owe a huge debt in this regard.

After the Malayan Governor's Office took over, it allocated large sums of money, first used for the construction of important coastal towns, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, which were all necessary investments.

The Malayan Governor's Office held 10% of the annual interest in the Royal Bright Oil Company, with annual profits reaching millions of silver dollars, and the government's finances were ample.

While vigorously building the four states of Malaya, it also promoted the development and construction of important towns along the southern coast.

The Chu State's Ministry of Colonies, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Transportation, Ministry of Commerce and Culture, Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Agriculture all have corresponding financial allocations to the southern Kalimantan region to promote the development of corresponding fields.

Taking the Ministry of Commerce and Culture as an example, they have invested more than 77 silver dollars in fiscal funds to establish a total of Chinese schools, including primary and secondary schools, in the region, and have staffed them with graduates from normal colleges to teach and comprehensively promote Chinese education.

Taking the Ministry of Industry as an example
Loan and assistance funds have been set up for essential factories in southern coastal towns to support private capital investment and improve industrial supporting facilities in various places.

Thanks to the concerted efforts of all parties, the southern region is showing an increasingly prosperous development momentum.

Every month, a varying number of Chinese immigrant fleets arrive, all of whom are new Chinese immigrants who have received systematic education at the Batangas Immigration Center and then transferred here.

The most prominent feature is that all Chinese immigrants have cut off their braids, and the men wear light-colored Tang-style short-sleeved robes distributed by the immigration center, dark work cloth pants, and a pair of rubber sandals.

The women wore short-sleeved, wide-brimmed Tang-style robes and pants made of blue and white floral cloth, looking very capable.

Each immigrant had two sets of clothing and only one pair of rubber sandals.

The entire set of clothing was worth 2 yuan in silver, which was recorded as an immigration loan and reserved for future repayment.

After a brief period of adaptation at the port, the newly arrived Chinese immigrants would disperse to various towns in an orderly manner, forming large and small Chinese villages and starting to farm and live.

The days go by as usual, but changes are happening every moment.

(End of this chapter)