Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 402: Get the Land You Want

Transoceanic railways connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are not uncommon. The Americans built two of them: the Pacific Railway that runs across the North American continent, and the Panama Railway that connects the Isthmus of Panama.

The former was built in 1869 with a total length of more than 4500 kilometers. It connects the largest cities on the east coast, New York and Philadelphia, and San Francisco on the west coast, forming a land bridge across the North American continent, which greatly promoted the development and construction of the West.

The latter is an isthmus railway only 72 kilometers long, passing through the Isthmus of Panama, the shortest in the entire Americas, connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean Sea in Central America. It is a convenient transoceanic road bridge.

The Transoceanic Railway built by the Chu State is located between the two.

Its real purpose
It also lies in vigorously promoting the process of Chinese immigration and settlement, such as advancing into the eastern part of the Patagonia Plain, which is a vital land route.

Because the southern Strait of Magellan is extremely dangerous and the sea conditions are bad, several sailing immigrant ships capsized in the early days, and almost no one on board survived.

Several shipwrecks before and after caused the deaths of more than 2300 immigrants and crew members, leaving a deep shadow.

Therefore, the Chu State Colonial Department issued a clear order not to allow immigrant ships to enter the Strait of Magellan, only cargo ships were allowed.

A cargo ship capsized, and only a few dozen sailors were killed.

Today's 10,000-ton immigration ships are different. They often carry thousands of immigrants, but there must not be any mistakes, otherwise it will be an unbearable pain.

Therefore

The immigration route runs from Hawaii, stops in Central America, to Chino Island on the Pacific coast, and does not extend further south.

Most of the southbound boats are scheduled coastal services from the island of Hainaut, heading to the two provincial capitals and several immigrant settlements on the Pacific coast.

After several years of development, it has grown into the prototype of small and medium-sized towns.

Ordinary Chinese immigrants who wanted to reach Bahia Blanca on the Atlantic side usually had to follow a horse-drawn caravan, crossing the glacial valley of the Andes Mountains, a long journey of more than 1700 kilometers.

To migrate such a long distance, one must at least have a carriage, or pay a certain fee to follow the transport team, otherwise it will be difficult to complete.

The arduous journey lasted for forty to fifty days, and the number of immigrants that could be transported was very limited.

If you go there alone rashly, you will often get lost in the vast wilderness, miss the town stations where you can replenish water and food, and the probability of dying in the wilderness is very high.

If a transoceanic railway could be built, the situation would be very different.

The long migration journey of more than 1700 kilometers can be completed in three days by train. Apart from the burning sensation on the buttocks, there is no life-threatening danger at all.

If a few trains run every day, the number of passengers transported can reach thousands, and 300,000 to 400,000 immigrants a year can be easily achieved.

By increasing the number of trains as needed, it would be easy to carry millions of passengers every year.

Densely establish immigrant villages and towns in the north, but there is no need to rush in the central and southern parts of the Patagonian Plain. With slow and steady efforts, it will take 10 to 8 years to build the basic plan for the towns.

As for the candidate for the governor of the Patagonia Governorate, the opinion of Deputy Prime Minister Marquis Zheng Shouxin was sought. He declined on the grounds of being old and lacking energy, and it was obvious that he did not want to go.

Marquis Zheng Shouxin now serves as the Governor-General of Tongzhou, and he is old, so it is understandable that he does not want to travel so far to serve as an official.

After some consideration, King Zheng Guohui of Chu decided to appoint Lieutenant General He Ruolin, Vice President of the Manila Advanced Army Academy, as Governor of Patagonia and organize the first royal cavalry regiment in South America.

Today
The Chu State did not yet have a true cavalry regiment. The Royal Guard Cavalry was more of a ceremonial cavalry. It could only be described as a beautiful appearance, but not a cavalry that could fight on the battlefield.

The Patagonia Viceroyalty is so vast that one cavalry regiment might not be enough, at least two would be needed.

As a monarch who has always paid attention to the situation in South America, King Zheng Guohui of Chu saw an international short message while reading the April issue of "World Situation Overview" compiled by the Royal Secretariat.

In 1874, Bolivia signed a new treaty with the two governing countries, stipulating that the Chilean government give up all rights in the area north of the 24th parallel south.

As compensation, Bolivia agreed not to raise taxes on Chilean and British joint venture mining companies for 25 years and to keep the current tax rates stable.

This was a new round of division of interests in the Atacama Desert's rich saltpeter and guano resources, which avoided armed conflict and was called "a major victory for South American diplomacy" in the text message.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu almost laughed out loud when he saw this. What kind of "diplomatic victory" was this?
It is simply like lighting the fuse of war. Now it is crackling and no one can extinguish it.

Why do you say that?
Venezuela and Bolivia are both countries with a predominantly Indian population in South America. Even 150 years later, they are still among the poorest countries in the Americas.

In the minds of these Indians and mixed-race Spanish descendants, the concept of abiding by contracts and fulfilling contractual obligations does not exist at all, and it can be overturned with a snap of the forehead.

These people have no integrity and no long-term strategic planning. They only care about themselves and the large area in front of them. They lack the necessary rules in their national blood and often act recklessly.

Looking at the long-term timeline, the amazing operations of these South American and Central American countries, the so-called "changing orders every day" are commonplace, and often shocking.

In this field
The British can be said to be a model of abiding by treaties. In 1840, Britain signed the Treaty of Waitangi with the Maori people on the island of New Zealand, recognizing their special status and indigenous rights.

In the original history, it was still implemented until 180 years later, and there are countless similar examples.

Only when there is sufficient interest could the British tear up the treaty so brazenly. The indigenous Maori people obviously could not reach such a level, so the length of time the treaty was implemented was astonishing.

Let’s go back to Bolivia in South America. If the original history had not changed, Bolivia would have torn up the signed treaty after only four years, that is, in 4, thus triggering the famous "Guano War".

When I think of this
King Zheng Guohui of Chu hummed a tune happily. The results of his infiltration into the small Central American countries of Nicaragua and Honduras are becoming increasingly apparent.

Now he sits back and watches the ebb and flow of the situation in Central America, with its undercurrents.

If these small Central American countries are powerless, they will be infiltrated even more severely in the following years, and as long as the timing is right, they can be destroyed with a flip of the hand.

For example, during the Guano War, we could find an appropriate entry point.

If these small Central American countries dare to turn the tables, drive out, suppress and use violence against the Chinese living in the local area, and escalate conflicts among the Chinese diaspora into riots, the final outcome is obvious.

In the eyes of King Zheng Guohui of Chu
Nicaragua and Honduras are just two broken shacks that can be kicked over with one kick.

He is currently planning the establishment of a governorate in Hawaii and the laying of a trans-Pacific cable, all in preparation for the Central American crisis. He plans to have the trans-Pacific cable line operational within three to four years, but a key technical challenge is the core high-strength steel cable.

Currently, Nanyang Heavy Industries of Chu State is testing furnace after furnace of molten steel through various methods, hoping to master the proportion of ultra-high strength steel ingredients and overcome this technological challenge.

Ultra-high-strength steel has a wide range of applications, from warships to civilian use, from steam locomotive wheels to machine tools, and also in the production of ultra-high-strength steel cables, all of which require this special steel.

Laying a submarine cable across the Pacific Ocean is several times more difficult than laying a submarine cable across the Atlantic Ocean. The ultra-high-strength steel cable, which is the core of the submarine cable, requires a higher level of technology.

When it comes to actual laying, it is not difficult at all.

nowadays

The Royal Nanyang Telegraph Office has a special submarine cable laying work vessel with a displacement of 7900 tons, which can lay submarine cables at a stable speed of 5.5 to 6 kilometers per hour.

Accompanied by three pusher steamships and two coal carriers, an average of 130 to 150 kilometers of paving could be achieved every day, with continuous work for more than a month.

These three pusher steamers are used to ensure that large-tonnage submarine cable laying work vessels will not deviate from the predetermined laying trajectory due to the push of wind and ocean currents when sailing slowly.

In this field, the Chu State already has rich experience in laying.

As a result, the Royal Nanyang Telegraph Office became one of the most famous telegraph offices in the world. Its telegraph business to and from the northern continent was extremely large, accounting for more than 70% of the company's international telegraph business.

The colonial expansion plans in Central and South America were most influenced by the Americans, and relations with the United States are also the most troublesome relationship for the current Ministry of Foreign Affairs, without a doubt.

The two sides have been arguing for several years and there is almost no peace.

Britain and Chu have constantly accused the United States of promoting great power chauvinism in Central and South America, interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, and acting like a scoundrel.

In European newspapers and public opinion, smearing and insulting the United States are the mainstream, which makes the situation of Americans in the international environment very difficult, and they all point fingers at the back and curse.

The famous British newspaper The Times is the leading mouthpiece of European public opinion. Any newspaper or media that goes against the mainstream British public opinion will often attract the attention of the British diplomatic department, which will exert pressure in various ways.

Although Germany rose, it still pales in comparison to Britain.

Britain's influence in ruling the world for two hundred years is no joke. Its influence on European public opinion is terrifyingly strong, so the United States' diplomatic image is naturally not much better.

As long as the United States does not give up imposing high tariffs of 50% to 80% on British textiles, British public opinion will not give up scolding, denigrating and smearing the United States.

Anyone who harms the interests of the British Empire is an enemy.

at this point
What the State of Chu did was very smart. The reciprocal tariff and trade treaty it signed with Britain allowed Chu's industrial products to successfully enter the pound sterling trade circle, and also allowed a large amount of British cotton and cotton cloth to flood into the Chu market.

The Chu State did not have a textile industry, so there was naturally no impact on it.

In the wave of imported foreign cloth, textile companies supported by royal capital and Chinese private capital faced the most severe competition from the very beginning and developed tenaciously step by step.

In particular, taking advantage of its close proximity to the Australian continent, Chu focused on developing the wool textile industry, and its textile industry also began to emerge.

More than 3.6 large woolen mills were put into production one after another, adding 10 jobs nationwide. Together with upstream and downstream transportation and other industries, more than jobs were created.

It has driven the carriage manufacturing industry, the breeding of large livestock such as mules, horses and cattle, and the demand in areas such as railways and ships has also increased, which can be said to have brought many benefits.

In the fierce market competition
The cotton textile industry of the Chu State has grown from a small beginning to now have developed into more than a dozen textile mills of various sizes, dozens of weaving mills and more dyeing and finishing workshops, forming a certain competitiveness.

After all, the British cloth came from thousands of miles away, and the transportation cost was a huge amount of money.

The Chu State mainly imported large quantities of Indian cotton, which was spun into yarn and cloth locally, and gradually gained a larger share in quality and output.

Around 1874, the cotton fabrics produced by Chu's domestic textile industry had already accounted for one-fifth of the country's demand and were still growing vigorously. This was a very good sign.

The woolen blended fabrics produced by the Chu State accounted for more than 80% of the country's demand and were also exported to northern China and Fusang, becoming one of the leading export varieties.

This is because domestic wool spinning mills have cost advantages. The coarse and combed wool tops they weave are blended into woolen fabrics, which, after being dyed and finished locally, become fabrics that can be used to make clothes.

Compared with woolen fabrics imported from the UK, there is no transportation cost on the Eurasian route from Chu to the UK and then back from the UK, so the cost naturally has a clear advantage.

Using tariffs for protection will not last long. The textile industry is a business with a very low entry threshold, but the upper limit of development is very high.

The British did not say much about Chu's textile advantage.

Because many woolen mills had British investment, as well as weaving mills and dyeing and finishing factories, there were more than 5.3 British people settled in Chu. Most of them were investors in the industrial field or traders and their families. There were also some lawyers, engineers and other practitioners.

In its treatment of white immigrants from powerful countries such as Britain and France, the Chu State granted them the same national treatment and non-discriminatory security guarantees as stipulated in the treaty, and its implementation was quite strict.

This is also what makes the major powers such as Britain, France, Germany, Russia, the United States, Austria-Hungary, and the Netherlands relatively satisfied. Except for a few areas of conflict in the colonial field, cooperation in other areas is pleasant.

Except for the United States, Chu State had signed trade tariff reciprocity treaties with most of the above countries, stipulating that they would conduct reciprocal free trade with the above countries, implement low tariffs on mutual import and export trade, and exempt various miscellaneous taxes.

these years
The United Kingdom is most satisfied with the strict adherence to the provisions of the reciprocal treaty, not imposing bans on mutual import and export trade, and not levying additional tonnage fees, port usage fees, pilotage fees, and salvage fees for wrecked ships on each other's ships.

This is also the fundamental factor behind the growing warming between the two countries, and it is very much in line with the British appetite.

As long as the British make money and the businessmen are treated well, and as long as our own strength is strengthened, all conflicts can be negotiated.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu thought
Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the war in South America, we should find a way to get hold of these territories in Central America to avoid any further trouble.

Just strike when the time is right, and don't worry about your eating manners. Anyway, there will be plenty of time to manage your image in the future, and slowly establish the image of a good person who is kind to others.

You have to occupy the territory you want first, and then you can consider the rest later.

About another 4 to 5 years will be enough time to arrange everything.

(End of this chapter)