Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 468 Cochin Port

Four days later, the Chu King's fleet set sail again, forming a single column and sailing into the depths of the Indian Ocean.

Escorted by the ironclad ships "Manila" and "Shangri-La", the Royal Mail Ship "Ocean Shuttler" was located in the middle of the fleet, followed by the immigrant ship "Dongting Lake", two cargo ships, and two naval coal carriers, which were lined up in sequence.

Recently

The King of Chu inspected the villages and towns in the surrounding areas of Aceh. The convoy could travel as far as over 100 kilometers. The roads and bridges along the way were unobstructed, and the trees planted on both sides were lush and green.

All of this is built in accordance with local high-standard areas.

In the long-term planning of the Chu State

The goal was to incorporate the entire island of Sumatra into the kingdom's mainland, force the Dutch out, and achieve full control over this important island.

Continuous infiltration to the southeast is only the first step. The time is not yet ripe for the complete annexation of the island, and we need to wait patiently.

The five native islands of the Chu State in the future were Hainan Island (Note: Luzon Island, where Greater Manila is located), Cebu Island, Tongzhou Island (Note: also known as Mindanao Island), Kalimantan Island and Sumatra Island.

In the coming decades, the four former mainland islands will gradually be connected by land through undersea tunnels, bay bridges and other large-scale transportation projects, closely linking the four mainland islands together to form an indivisible whole.

In this way

The territory of the four main islands of the Chu State extended over one million square kilometers (Note: the area of ​​Kalimantan Island is 74.3 square kilometers), totaling about 105 million square kilometers, which laid the foundation for a world power.

Sumatra, the only major mainland island, covers an area of ​​47 square kilometers. Due to the long sea route, it is not possible to achieve land connection. The only way to integrate into the kingdom's economic circle is to strengthen the connection through more regular sea flights.

The total area of ​​the five mainland islands is 5 million square kilometers, which is not small.

This was the King of Chu's long-term plan for the territory of his homeland. Engineering research on undersea tunnels has been ongoing, and considerable engineering experience has been accumulated in digging riverbed tunnels.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu inspected the areas around Aceh. The economic conditions of the Chinese immigrant villages and towns here were obviously inferior to those in the Greater Manila area and the early colonized Tongzhou Island.

Village houses are mainly mud and thatched houses, and there are also many wooden board houses. There are fewer brick and stone houses that are comfortable and decent to live in. There is also much room for improvement in the construction of village roads and farmland infrastructure.

While inspecting these areas, King Zheng Guohui of Chu felt as if he had returned to more than ten years ago.

Today, in Hainan Island, Cebu Island and Tongzhou Island, which are relatively mature and have higher economic levels, the local early Chinese immigrants have repaid their immigration loans.

Most of them use the money they earn to continue expanding agricultural and agricultural sideline production, renovating their houses, getting married and having children, and their lives are getting better and better day by day.

Brick and tile houses have been renovated in most villages and towns, becoming spacious, bright, and respectable. The more dilapidated and simple wooden houses have become a minority, and mud and thatched houses are almost gone.

In Sumatra

These new Chinese immigrants must also go through such a process. After more than ten years, they will be able to live as prosperously as the people on the three mainland islands. This requires time to settle.

Many villagers had patches of varying sizes on their clothes, but they looked healthy and should have enough to eat, which meant they had achieved their basic initial goal.

In this tropical region of Southeast Asia, harvesting three crops a year is no joke. As long as you are willing to work hard and cultivate the land diligently, you can harvest rice three times a year and even intercrop a crop of vegetables, fruits and melons.

Based on an average yield of about 180 kilograms per mu of land, if three crops are harvested in a year, the harvest must be at least 500 kilograms. So how much grain can each household harvest on average from dozens or hundreds of mu of land?

The first thing that the Chinese who immigrated to Southeast Asia had to solve was the problem of food and clothing. On this basis, they raised chickens, ducks, sheep, pigs, cattle, horses, and donkeys, and developed vegetable and fruit production. These were all ways to make money, and their lives were bound to become more and more prosperous.

Although the pace of becoming rich is slow, it is steady.

When leaving Aceh, King Zheng Guohui of Chu gave a solemn and earnest admonition to all the officials:

"We must work together to address the people's pressing needs and their concerns. We must simply do practical and good things for the people and boost the regional economy. While achieving a brilliant personal career, we must also build a monument to regional economic development and achieve a true win-win situation..."

The accompanying officials hurriedly recorded it, which would be disseminated throughout the country as the King of Chu's decree in the future, for the governor's office, prefecture, and county officials to follow and implement. It would be of great significance in educating all officials.

The distance between Aceh Port and Cochin Port in India is about 2370 kilometers. The visiting fleet sailed at an average speed of 12 knots and successfully arrived at this important port known as the "Queen of the Arabian Sea" near noon on the fifth day.

The cruise ship "Ocean Shuttler" slowly docked at the pier. At the pier, thousands of people, including representatives of the local British colonial government, high-ranking officials, nobles, gentlemen and ladies from various countries, diplomatic envoys of the Chu State to India, Chinese businessmen and local Chinese residents, held the Chu State's Bagua Tai Chi flag in their hands and warmly welcomed the arrival of the King of Chu.

Following the ancient Chinese tradition, dragon and lion dance performances were held on the pier, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.

The Ocean Shuttler had a retractable gangway on its side, allowing it to dock directly at the pier, allowing the royal convoy to exit in sequence, much like the roll-on/roll-off ships of later generations. The King of Chu and his entourage exchanged brief greetings with the local British officials and the Chu diplomatic envoy to India, then waved to the welcoming Chinese crowd before boarding the royal convoy.

The royal convoy was led by the British garrison cavalry. A line of 36 dazzling cars followed one after another, followed by a large number of white carriages, heading towards the city.

That afternoon, the King of Chu and his entourage stayed in an ancient Portuguese-style palace building. This was a temporary palace purchased by the Chu royal family. The interior and exterior were strictly guarded by the Royal Guards, and no outsiders were allowed to approach.

Even the shops in the nearby streets were properties of the Chu royal family fund. Before the arrival of the imperial carriage, all the shops were closed and pedestrians were prohibited from entering.

The local British police station in Cochin also assisted in maintaining law and order by sending dozens of red-headed Indians to patrol nearby and block local people who intended to enter.

During the two days that the King of Chu stayed in Hua, all the streets near the palace were closed.

In preparation for the emperor's visit, the Chu government had made all the necessary arrangements to avoid any accidents.

Cochin is a city with an ancient history. The old city where the palace is located has many ancient Portuguese, British and Spanish buildings and European churches. Various distinctive European buildings can be seen here.

Among them, Portuguese-style buildings are the most numerous. Within a radius of 4 kilometers around the palace, there are 9 churches, 23 Hindu temples, and numerous European-style buildings. The mottled and blackened facades of the buildings bear witness to the erosion of countless years and show a heavy historical accumulation.

After settling down, King Zheng Guohui of Chu looked out from the dome-shaped window on the third floor and saw that the buildings in the nearby area had many tall spires, and there were a large number of densely packed bungalows not far away.

The rich area and the slums are only separated by a street, but they are two distinct types of life.

Seeing these local dark-skinned Indians, King Zheng Guohui of Chu raised a glass of champagne in his hand and took a sip, with a calm look of a bystander on his face.

Whether now or in the future, the Chu State had no intention of setting foot here, so it naturally ignored these Indians and did not take them seriously.

India has never had a unified country in history, and the country is divided into four or five hundred princely states.

It was the massive influx of British colonists who used various means to bring it under colonial control that led to the formation of the broad concept of the Indian subcontinent.

Today, when nationalism is just emerging in Europe, this new concept has not yet been widely accepted by people in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

What followed was a series of struggles for national freedom and independence, just like what happened in the Balkans of Europe, where the Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Croats and Armenians all awakened to their national consciousness.

It is precisely under the impetus of this wave that the complex historical grievances and the reality of oppression have transformed the Balkan region into a European powder keg.

This emerging wave of national consciousness inevitably aroused great vigilance among the ruling class, including King Zheng Guohui of Chu. Should they open it up, ban it, or let it take its course?

King Zheng Guohui of Chu had not made up his mind yet. After careful consideration, he decided to wait and see.

Today, the Chu State has a vast territory and numerous colonies. If only the Congo River Basin, East Africa and Costa Rica, which has just been incorporated into the Chu State system, are included, the total territory area has exceeded 600 million square kilometers, making it a great power in the world.

It is also because of this that there are so many ethnic groups in the colonies that are ruled.

There were no more hidden dangers under the East African Company, but the Congo River Company still had a large number of black tribes in the region until the end of this century, and the same was true for Central America and the Governorate of Tuskonia.

If the tide of national consciousness awakening spreads to the above-mentioned areas, it will inevitably bring great troubles, and the overall disadvantages will outweigh the advantages.

In another ten years or so, there will be no problem.

Thought of here
The King of Chu was filled with curiosity about the primitive and mysterious African continent. He was impressed by the endless migrating wildebeests, the hunting lions and giraffes, which were the calls of primitive wildness.

These aroused a strong interest in him. This trip to Europe is also a trip around the world, which will completely unveil the world of this era.

The second half of the 19th century was a turbulent era and also the last opportunity for the geographical division of the world.

Today's Chu State is like a well-fed wise man, watching emerging countries such as Germany, Fusang, Italy, and the United States with cold eyes, eagerly looking for large colonies to conquer.

The State of Chu sat firmly on the Diaoyutai, not in a hurry at all.

Whether swallowing up the remaining territory of the East Indies or going further to include Australia, it is enough to crown the head of King Zheng Guohui of Chu, and further stand shoulder to shoulder with the Northern Shenzhou and truly dominate the South Seas.

Whenever the King of Chu thought of such a grand colonial development plan, he was secretly overjoyed, with an excitement that was difficult to suppress.

If you can do these, your life will be completely fulfilled.

(End of this chapter)