Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 430: Ambition for Australia
"I think the evaluation of being a second-rate power in the world is good. This is an improvement over the original evaluation of being a third-rate power. It shows that we have developed and become stronger." King Zheng Guohui of Chu did not care about these false reputations, and his expression showed considerable approval.

The Chu State was composed of overseas Chinese immigrants from Northern China. It was born out of Northern China, but it could not regard itself as an ancient oriental power. That was obviously not in line with reality.

Prime Minister Li Hezhang has a strong sense of great power in his heart. He does not fully agree with this European evaluation. He frowned and said:

"Our Chu State originates from the vast land of China, rich in natural resources and possesses a splendid ancient civilization. How can we allow foreigners to belittle us? This humble official will never accept it."

The Chu State has grown from a total population of more than 600 million more than ten years ago to a total population of more than million today. Its vast territory spans Asia, Central and South America, and West Africa, and it has become an extraordinary great power.

This made Prime Minister Li Hezhang even more arrogant, and naturally found it difficult to accept the evaluation of Westerners.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu put down the "Overview of World Affairs" compiled by the Royal Secretariat, which contained summaries of news newspapers and periodicals such as the famous British media "The Times", the German "Berlin Daily", the American "New York Times" and "Washington Post", as well as evaluations and definitions of the strength of the Chu State.

This is a window that gathers world news and public opinion. The Prime Minister and other cabinet members also read it frequently, from which they gain rich foreign knowledge and understand the latest developments in the world.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu said:
“Europe’s definition of world powers is not unreasonable to some extent.

Britain has more than 3000 million square kilometers of overseas colonies and is known as the "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets". There is no doubt that it is the world's top hegemon today.

Tsarist Russia had a territory of 2200 million square kilometers and a population of hundreds of millions. Its strength was first-class at the world level and it could be considered a top power.

France, the United States and the Qing Dynasty all have territorial land areas of tens of millions. In addition, although Germany does not have a large land area, its economy and military are both super strong, making it a world-class power.

Compared with the above-mentioned powerful countries, the shortcomings of the State of Chu are obvious. We should acknowledge the gap and then be more motivated to take action.

The current strength of the Chu State is similar to that of old European powers such as the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, and is among the second-rate powers.

In fact, the Ottoman Empire was not bad either. It had an army of 40 and was able to withstand the massive invasion of the Tsarist Russian army.

Think about it, our Chu army has less than 6 people, and its strength is far inferior to that of the Ottoman Empire, and is also inferior to that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy.

This evaluation of a second-rate world power is not meant to be derogatory."

The Chu State's military focused on building its navy, and the size of its navy has increased from more than 1.2 people to nearly 3 people, expanding by two times.

However, the army's strength has not improved. Even though some infantry divisions have been added, most of them are understaffed.

Only the Second Division, known as the Devil's Division, and the Third Division, known as the Kingdom's Shield, were always fully equipped and staffed. They were the only two fully staffed divisions in the Kingdom's Army and also the first-class main force divisions.

The Royal Army General Staff has been implementing an army strength restoration plan, which plans to expand the total army strength to more than 9.8 people, fully staff nine main divisions, and increase the establishment of some independent infantry regiments.

This request report has been kept in the imperial study, and King Zheng Guohui of Chu has not approved it yet.

However, regarding the organization of the four major fleets of the Royal Navy, namely the Pacific Fleet, the Atlantic Fleet, the South China Sea Fleet and the Indian Ocean Fleet, King Zheng Guohui of Chu approved it with a stroke of his pen, which shows the preference of His Majesty.

After hearing the King of Chu's comments, Prime Minister Li Hezhang said with a sigh:

"Your Majesty

The world is surrounded by powerful countries, each one stronger than the other. Whenever I think about this, I feel a sense of urgency.

The territory of our kingdom is located in a remote corner and is fragmented and isolated. I am always worried that the kingdom lacks cohesion and is easily taken advantage of by foreign enemies.

If we could take the Australian continent into our arms..."

"Cough cough cough..." King Zheng Guohui of Chu was drinking water. He was choked by his words and couldn't help coughing violently a few times.

He casually put down the teacup, glared at Prime Minister Li Hezhang, picked up a white silk handkerchief and wiped it, then said:

"We need to take our time and not rush into anything. Continuing to immigrate to Australia is the right path."

"Your Majesty, I was reckless." Prime Minister Li Hezhang bowed and said.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu waved his hand and said that in private, sensitive topics about Australia were not off-limits and people could speak freely.

It's just that the current Conservative government in the UK is very sensitive to this, and it easily pokes at Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli's already extremely suspicious mind, causing him to become hysterical.

After years of continuous immigration to Australia, Chinese people now account for two-thirds of the total Australian population, becoming an undoubted mainstream social group and receiving relatively fair treatment.

But in many ways, Chu cannot manipulate the Australian issue, at least not now.

Doesn’t King Zheng Guohui of Chu want to bring Australia under his rule?
He wanted it so much that he would drool whenever he saw such a large area. In recent years, capable officials and backbone forces who were fanatically supporting the Chu State have been continuously sent to Australia, and many of them were teenagers and children rescued by the Renji Society.

Its purpose is to firmly control the existing Chu Association in Australia and infiltrate its influence into large and small Chinese chambers of commerce, associations and non-governmental organizations to ensure strong centripetal force towards the Chu State.

Ordinary Chinese people don't need to care about him, but any Chinese leader with some power must remain loyal to His Majesty the King of Chu and the kingdom, otherwise he will not be able to move forward.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu never told anyone about his plans for Australia.

The ministers below could guess the emperor's intentions, but out of caution, King Zheng Guohui of Chu never gave a clear explanation, but continued to exert influence through secret channels.

In his inner plan
Australia will have to make a major decision about its future at the end of the century. That will be the time to really make an effort.

It's pointless to say anything now. Until Britain's power is significantly weakened and it doesn't consider shedding its colonial burdens and allowing its own independence, nothing will work. Chu's control over Kalimantan is steadily advancing. The original 200,000 to 300,000 Chinese in the Dutch-occupied southern part of the island have now grown to 1.2 to 1.3 million (note: indigenous people are not counted in the population), achieving full resettlement.

This piece of land will be firmly controlled by the State of Chu from now on.

Next Step

The population in the southern region will continue to increase at a rate of approximately 300,000 to 400,000 Chinese immigrants per year, develop the island's economy, and give it a stronger resettlement capacity.

Together with the three states in the northern region and the southern state, Kalimantan Island resettles a new Chinese immigrant population of one million every year. This is because its territory is vast and the plains around the coast alone can easily accommodate a large population.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu did not actually care about the fact that the region nominally belonged to the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.

The opportunity for change also came at the end of the century, when Britain and the Boers engaged in an unprecedentedly fierce war, which was a good opportunity for the Chu State to attack the Dutch.

The Anglo-Boer War led to hostility between the two countries. As Britain's close regional partner, Britain had to stand up at this time and give the Dutch a severe and fatal blow.

The British royal family and the Dutch royal family have a very close relationship now, so it is not a good time to take action.

"Your Majesty, this is the latest intelligence from the European front, as well as the diplomatic trends of various European countries. I beg Your Majesty to review it."

"Oh...put it down! I'll look at it when I have time."

"Wei Chen obeys your orders."

After the royal secretary presented the information, he quietly withdrew.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu took a look at it, but had no intention of getting up to read it. Instead, he continued to sit where he was and chatted with Prime Minister Li Hezhang.

"Prime Minister, your son is said to be doing a good job at the Congo River Company. He has managed Dongsang City in perfect order. He is a rare talent!"

"How can I possibly deserve such a high honor from Your Majesty? I've simply been diligent in my work. I still need to gain serious experience and learn some practical skills."

"Don't be too demanding of your children; this is more than enough. Among the wealthy families of our Chu State, not many are able to produce any decent young talent. Many have already fallen into the bad habits of extravagance and debauchery. What a pity, what a shame!"

“As the saying goes, wealth cannot last for more than three generations, and clan education is crucial.”

……

Chatted for a while
Seeing that it was getting late, Prime Minister Li Hezhang apologized, got up and left to return to his residence.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu did not stay long. There were not many people in the kingdom who could sit down and discuss philosophy and gossip with him.

Walk to the imperial desk

King Zheng Guohui of Chu picked up the latest European briefing and read it with concern.

The most central issue in Europe today is still the Balkan War, also known as the tenth Russo-Turkish War. Romania, Serbia and Montenegro all joined the Tsarist Russian camp and declared war on the Ottoman Empire.

This is the Tsarist Russian Empire, together with the rebellious provinces in the Ottoman Empire, launched a strike against the corrupt and backward Ottoman Empire. Relying on its absolute advantage in military strength, it has always been on the offensive.

The Ottoman Empire was on the defensive, especially the Ottoman defenders in Pleven were very tenacious. They repelled the large-scale attacks of the Tsarist Russian Empire three times in a row, causing heavy damage to it.

As a last resort, more than 20 Tsarist Russian troops laid siege to Pleven, which has lasted for more than a month.

Overall
The Ottoman army was in a state of decline. Even if it could hold out for a short period of time due to the cold, it would eventually be defeated.

The British, on whom they relied greatly, would find it difficult to provide strong support to the Ottoman Empire in the land war without the support of the French army, nor would it be possible to change the current balance of power between the two sides.

Ultimate failure is almost a foregone conclusion.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu carefully read the latest briefing from Europe, sighed lightly and put it on the table, feeling deeply moved at being in this great era.

In these continuous wars, changes in the international political situation will profoundly affect the future direction of the world and the fate of the major nations in Europe and Asia.

Some sink, some rise, and some fall apart...

Living in such a turbulent era, King Zheng Guohui of Chu was very fortunate that he had enough ability to expand new space for the Chinese nation overseas and create a larger and broader world.

Now looking around the entire Nanyang region
The international environment in which Chu State was located was unprecedentedly good. It had almost no enemies in the open sense, and no powerful opponents could threaten the safety of Chu State.

Before the First World War, France was unable to break free from the shackles of German power, and the resources it could deploy overseas were limited, and its colonial expansion was limited to the Indochina Peninsula.

Britain was clearly overwhelmed. In the later period of Queen Victoria's reign, its desire for overseas colonial expansion was clearly insufficient, its motivation weakened, and it became more focused on its existing territories.

The military strength of Fuso had not yet grown, and Tsarist Russia had not yet paid real attention to the East. This was a relatively peaceful and better era.

The State of Chu had at least 15 years of peaceful development, which was a process of consolidating and strengthening the national strength, gathering strength, and waiting for the opportunity for another major expansion.

(End of this chapter)