Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 429: The World's Second-Rate Powers
Many foreign envoys and guests attended the commissioning ceremony of the ironclad ship "Zhenhu" with colorful flags flying. They looked at the powerful warships standing in front of them like two small mountains, with extremely complicated expressions in their eyes.

The ironclad ships "Zhenhai" and "Zhenhu" were docked at the nearby naval dock, with full flags flying on the warships.

Not far away from the pier, there are the ironclad ships "Zhenxi" and "Zhenbei" as well as several ironclad cruisers docked, giving off a strong sense of oppression.

Especially the Dutch Minister Cornelis van Holdijk. Every time he looked at the huge black warship at the dock, his eyes felt a stinging pain and his expression became gloomy.

In the East Indies
The Royal Netherlands Navy's East Indies Fleet was a naval force mainly composed of sailing warships. In front of this cutting-edge ironclad warship, it appeared old and faltering, and its combat effectiveness was not worth mentioning.

The decline of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is reflected in all aspects, and its inability to build a navy is the most criticized aspect.

These huge new main ironclad ships, even without firing their guns, could crush the old Dutch sailing warships into pieces just by using their huge hulls. The gap was too huge.

"To be honest, after seeing these powerful warships of Chu, I personally have no hope of recovering the lost territory of Kalimantan. This is the ocean that belongs to Chu." The Dutch Minister Cornelis van Holdijk said with a lonely look.

Standing next to him was Colonial Affairs Officer Daly Blind, a middle-aged blond man in a white suit. He looked around to see that no one was paying attention, and then said:
"Dear Minister, the Governor-General does not care who actually rules Kalimantan Island now. This does not have much impact on the Kingdom's East Indian colonial rule.

The key is
We cannot lose these precious territories at the hands of the Governor. This will be an unacceptable black mark on our resume and will make us sinners of the country and the nation.

Maintaining the status quo is not bad; those Orientals won't just snatch it away."

"It seems to be a way to maintain respectability, just by fooling yourself."

"Look at it calmly, Mr. Minister. This is no longer the era when the Kingdom of the Netherlands dominated the seven seas. We must accept reality."

"Almighty God, I feel an invisible humiliation when I think of the noble race of Europe having to humble themselves before these Orientals."

"You'll get used to it, buddy. After all, the Chu State originated from an ancient Eastern country and is a civilization with a long history."

"Damn it! Their industrialization seems to be more advanced. They can actually build such a powerful warship on their own."

"We have to admit that these Orientals are very smart and good at learning."

Not far from them, several short Japanese people in kimonos had complicated expressions. They looked at the powerful warships docked at the dock, with strong envy and jealousy in their eyes.

"After all, it's the former suzerain nation, huh? With such an unprecedentedly powerful ironclad fleet, it must be the strongest of this era."

"Yoshihara-kun, your ignorance is truly shameful. The most powerful fleet of this era belongs to the British Royal Navy. When passing through the British Bay, the sea is filled with an endless black mass of powerful warships, almost obscuring the entire bay. That is the pinnacle of human naval power. What are these mere warships?"

"British warships won't sail to Asia. In the South China Sea, the Chu fleet should be the most powerful."

"Mr. Yoshihara, please remember that the power of the British Royal Navy radiates across the globe. Even thousands of miles away, no one dares to ignore it. This is the strength of a global hegemon."

"I haven't denied Britain's strength, but in East Asia, the first thing the Fuso Navy has to face is the Chu State's powerful ironclad fleet, isn't it?"

"So what? The Fuso Navy will always follow the footsteps of the strongest navy. One day, we will also possess such powerful ironclad warships."

"Hmph, I hope so. We can't afford too much in the shipbuilding budget."

As they were talking, they saw in the distance a group of ministers escorting His Majesty the King of Chu down the ship's gangway. They glanced at each other and hurried to greet them.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu seemed to be in high spirits and gave an impromptu speech in front of so many foreign envoys.

The powerful fleet of the Chu Royal Navy is and will certainly be an important force in maintaining regional security and stability and play a constructive role.

Looking to the future
The Chu State hopes that the entire Nanyang region will develop into a sea of ​​hope, a sea of ​​peace, and a sea of ​​common prosperity facing the future, seeking the well-being of the people of the Nanyang countries and creating a good opportunity for common development...

The passionate speech won thunderous applause from the audience.

Even the usually reserved envoys from Britain and France, as well as envoys from Germany, Russia, the United States and other countries, could not help but applaud, expressing their high agreement with these words.

In the field of foreign trade, the State of Chu has always followed the footsteps of Britain in opening up trade, actively promoting tariff reductions and opening its doors wider. This has been highly recognized by Britain and France, which regard it as a close regional trading partner.

It doesn't matter what you say, it's what you do.

Over the past decade, the State of Chu has been adhering to an open trade policy, which has indeed won the respect of Britain and has been fully integrated into the pound sterling trade circle.

The core of Britain's foreign trade policy was "open trade," which it promoted relentlessly around the world. Anyone who opposed it was an enemy, and anyone who agreed was a partner. As a newly established nation, the Chu State had no significant industry or crafts to protect at its inception; most of it was a blank slate.

Opening up trade inevitably led to a flood of industrial products from Britain.

This not only enriched the Chu State's market, but also allowed British traders to make huge profits. Naturally, it received rave reviews and was regarded as an excellent trading partner.

Shortly thereafter
The local industry of Chu State developed accordingly. The threshold for developing industry in this era was very low. In the fierce market competition, Chu State's industry grew and developed step by step and gradually became the mainstream in the country.

Rapidly developing specialty industries, such as the canning industry, tobacco industry, coffee, cocoa and sugar industry, wool textile industry, steel and copper smelting and processing industry, shipbuilding industry, etc., have grown and developed rapidly by relying on their resource advantages and have become a trend.

In these many areas

Imported British products simply could not compete with them. Firstly, the long sea transportation resulted in high costs, and coupled with the resource disadvantages, they were far inferior to the local products in terms of quality and price.

Chu's industrial products quickly counterattacked the market and even entered the British colonies and protectorates in large quantities, forming a unique competitive advantage.

In recent years
The industrial development of the Chu State further deepened, and new progress was continuously made in the fields of mechanical processing industry, machine tool industry and large-scale mining steam engine complete equipment.

Some improved steam engines, high-pressure oil boilers and other equipment have begun to be exported to Europe and have received quite high praise.

Of course

In the face of Britain's traditional strong point, the cotton textile industry of Chu State was not competitive enough, and its production efficiency, quality and variety were still insufficient, and it only occupied 30% of the domestic market.

Imported Indian cotton and British machine-made cloth are still the mainstream products in the Chu market.

This is not a big problem. Due to the large trade surplus in crude oil and kerosene exports to Europe, the Chu State has been expanding its purchases of British industrial products in order to balance trade.

For example, most of the rails, steam locomotives, refrigerated ships and 10,000-ton cargo ships needed for the construction of the Patagonia Viceroyalty, and the cargo ships and industrial products needed by the East African Company were ordered from nearby Britain, with an annual amount of up to 20 to 30 million silver dollars.

The Viceroyalty of Patagonia exports chilled meat, carded and combed wool tops, oilseeds and soybean meal, copper, and cattle and sheep hides, which can arrive in Europe in just 23 to 24 days.

Especially in the current situation of the Balkan War, the European market has a stronger demand for bulk agricultural materials and the prices are quite good.

Construction has recently begun in Central America
The relevant bulk materials can be purchased from the United States and Europe nearby, which is more cost-effective and does not need to be shipped all the way from the kingdom.

The construction of roads, railways and ports in Central America, including urban construction, is now progressing in an orderly manner, and several cement plants are under construction.

After conquering Central America, the Chu State built it to the same specifications as its own country, with very high construction standards in all aspects.

Funds have been allocated for preliminary hydrological and geographical surveys of the Nicaragua Canal, and as many as seven teams of engineers are conducting field surveys in the area.

This century-long project, which requires a huge investment, will be mainly led by funds from the Chu royal family, with some government funds and social funds added to coordinate its construction.

The Nicaragua Canal Company has been established and has invited dozens of engineers from Germany, France, Britain and other countries to participate, as well as hundreds of outstanding Chinese students in the engineering field, to form a team with strong technical capabilities.

The preliminary feasibility study of this century-long project will last for 1 to 2 years, and detailed engineering construction documents will be produced. Construction roads and railways will also need to be built in advance, and construction ships will be ordered, etc. The preparatory work is quite cumbersome.

However, driven by the strong will of the Chu royal family, the preparatory work for the Nicaragua Canal project progressed smoothly. Money was given, people were given, and the Governor-General's Office of Central America gave the green light all the way.

The core project of the Southern Viceroyalty of Patagonia is the Transoceanic Railway, which is now under construction in full swing. More than 750 kilometers of railway have been laid, 16 stations have been built, and the overall construction progress has reached half.

In the Viceroyalty of Central America

The Nicaragua Canal project, which is currently under preparation, has a total construction period of more than 11 years. It is the largest project ever undertaken by the Chu State and is extremely large in scale.

This is also the No. 1 project of the Viceroyalty of Central America. All human and material resources must be devoted to it. It is currently in the preparation stage and is expected to begin formal construction in 1880.

This canal project has attracted the attention of the United States, Britain, France, Germany and other countries. These countries have sent envoys to the State of Chu to start formal consultations on cooperation in shipping after the completion of the Nicaragua Canal.

From this
This century-long project, which is enough to shock the world, will have a huge impact on the global geopolitical field.

This is also one aspect of the rapid rise of Chu's international influence. Now many European powers have recognized that Chu has become one of the world's second-tier powers.

(End of this chapter)