Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 491 Preparing for an Expedition to Madagascar

After the King of Chu and his entourage returned to their homeland, the International Conference on African Development in Berlin was still in progress, becoming the focus of world public opinion today.

The meeting, originally scheduled for one and a half months, had to be postponed due to the numerous proposals put forward by representatives from various countries.

At present, it seems that it will last at least three or four months.

Counting on one's fingers, it was not until around March 1885 that this colonial feast of dividing Africa came to an end, thus triggering a frenzy of colonizing Africa.

The Chu delegation left behind senior diplomatic representatives headed by Wu Qingfeng, Secretary of State for Colonies, as well as many other officials including Zheng Yulan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Li Jingxi, Deputy Secretary-General, who had extensive contacts with representatives from various countries during the conference.

Official communication channels at the national level are certainly important, but the role of the private networks of some senior officials should not be underestimated.

Many sensitive events are leaked through private channels.

The Chu State diplomatic delegation fully participated in the agenda of the Berlin Conference with the aim of defending its own colonial interests, safeguarding existing colonial achievements, and promoting consensus on important issues regarding the demarcation of colonial areas.

At an international conference where interests are contested, it makes a world of difference whether there are people present or not.

For a group of young and energetic officials like Wu Qingfeng, witnessing with their own eyes the international stage of Berlin, where all kinds of people appear on the stage every day, fully interprets the drama of international political competition in today's era.

This is the best opportunity to broaden your international horizons and participate in international strategic games.

From asserting rights in group discussions to colonial disputes during the chairman's debate, the Chu delegation, while insisting on its own colonial interests in the Congo River and East African companies, frequently made deals with the powers under the table.

For example, Germany:
German warships and soldiers are currently invading two vast colonies, Namibia in West Africa and Tanzania in East Africa, and have roughly gained an advantageous position to control the situation.

It was not easy for a new colonial power like Germany to obtain public recognition from the world powers for its colonies in German East Africa and German West Africa.

Then recognizing Chu's earlier vested interests and gaining Chu's support is the only way to exchange interests.

There was no direct conflict of interest between Germany and Chu, and a tacit understanding of mutual support was reached under the table, which was almost a natural thing.

Similarly, Britain, Belgium, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the Ottoman Empire and other countries all reached a tacit understanding with the Chu State under the table and promoted the recognition of existing colonial facts at the meeting.

The French were still grumbling, but the Chu State refused to tolerate them and refused to recognize the status of France's existing African colonies, including French Benin, Ghana, northern Cameroon, and Central Africa, all of which were not recognized.

In the context of the Chu State’s diplomatic officials, the above-mentioned areas were called
"This was the first African region visited by early Portuguese adventurers, who inherited all territorial rights in the Greater Congo River Basin based on a land purchase treaty reached between Chu and Portugal."

"The Chu Kingdom has sufficient legal basis to support its claim to the territorial rights in the aforementioned West African region and to defend the interests of the kingdom."

"It's not about sending a few people to colonize an entire area. Chu State suggests a precise definition of colonization. In a colony with an area of ​​10 square kilometers, there should be at least three concentrated colonies with a population of no less than people, and so on."

Such a formal statement

This laid the groundwork for Chu to strive for the above-mentioned African colonies and also led to a territorial dispute between the two countries, which became public at the Berlin Conference.

In particular, the last proposal of the Chu State was generally opposed by the small Western European countries present at the meeting, but unexpectedly received support from Britain, Germany and Italy.

Especially for small countries with small populations such as Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, it is impossible for them to invest too many people in African colonies. They only have a few million people themselves and really cannot afford the loss.

The Portuguese colonized Africa for more than 400 years. In the two African colonies of Angola and Mozambique, the total number of their white colonists and their descendants was only more than 38,000.

Even if the mixed-race descendants of white colonists and local indigenous blacks are included, the total number does not exceed 14.

The small population of Europe is a dilemma that these small countries find difficult to overcome.

Therefore, there was strong opposition to the formal proposal to link the number of white colonists to the size of the colonized area.

France was also among the opponents. Although France was a populous and powerful country in Europe, it could not withstand the fact that the territory it occupied was too vast and the landlords had no surplus food.

For an area of ​​100,000 square kilometers, there would need to be more than 30,000 white colonists settling permanently, which is not a small number.

If Chu's proposal is widely recognized by the Berlin Conference, it will be passed by vote.

The French West African colonies alone covered a vast area of ​​468.9 million square kilometers, occupying two-thirds of the Sahara Desert, and required more than 150 million white colonists to settle there long-term.

The total area of ​​France's colonies in Africa exceeds 10 million square kilometers. According to the standards proposed by the Chu State, the French cannot afford it.

Why would the British agree to this?
The secret here lies in the British Rhodesia colony (note: South Africa). If the colonial standards proposed by the Chu State were followed, the Boers' colonial rights would be difficult to be recognized internationally.

Similarly, Britain's colonial interests in Rhodesia were difficult to acknowledge, but the British did not care. Their only goal was to deny the Boer colonial status quo, which was difficult to gain widespread support in Europe.

As for the African colonies claimed by Britain, no matter which piece of land it is, who dares to lay their hands on it?
International rules are made for the weak, and the truly strong do not need to follow them. For example, the British Empire is such a special existence.

The game on the diplomatic stage in Berlin is very fierce. On the previous issue, they formed an alliance, and on the next issue, they became opponents and argued endlessly.

Compared with the swordplay on the international stage, the Chu State in Southeast Asia was peaceful and prosperous and was completely unaffected.

After returning to the kingdom, the King of Chu spent more than ten days dealing with the mountains of important government affairs one by one. It was already approaching the Lunar New Year of 1885.

In his busy schedule before the Spring Festival, King Zheng Guohui of Chu took two days off to visit the East African Expeditionary Force that was undergoing concentrated training at a military base in the suburbs of Batangas.

It was a common practice in the Chu State to boost morale before the army set out on an expedition.

Batangas is not only the largest heavy industrial city in the kingdom, with a complete range of industries such as petrochemicals, steel shipbuilding, and machinery manufacturing, but it is also a military stronghold where large armies gather.

Around Batangas and extending northwest to Cavite, there are as many as 33 military bases and large military storage depots, as well as more than a dozen naval logistics supply stations.

The King of Chu inspected the largest training base, Military Base No. 77, located in a remote mountain valley in the far suburbs of Batangas. There are more than 1.4 expeditionary soldiers here who are undergoing the final closed military training.

In order to maintain secrecy, the important military bases of the Chu State were numbered, making it impossible to reveal their locations or other important information.

From late June last year to now

Stimulated by the standoff in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, King Zheng Guohui of Chu was determined to launch an expedition to Madagascar, and the recruitment of new soldiers and military expansion had already been fully launched.

Four expeditionary divisions were identified for the Madagascar expedition, namely the 4st Expeditionary Division, the 13th Expeditionary Division, the newly formed 14th Division and the newly formed 3.4th Division, together with a logistics and supply regiment for each division and a supplementary corps of more than a thousand people, totaling approximately people.

Each expeditionary division has a total of 8680 to 9350 people. This time, the Chu State expanded its army and restored the Ninth Expeditionary Division in Central America to full equipment and personnel.

In addition, the original 5th, 3600th, th, th and th divisions were upgraded from the original Class B divisions of more than people to fully equipped Class A divisions.

The total size of the Chu Royal Army increased from less than 22 to about 27.85, very close to the total size of 28.

The total size of this army is closely following that of Britain among the world powers, and is lower than Russia, Germany, France, Qing Dynasty, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Britain, ranking 8th in the world.

The size of its military force was slightly smaller than the 29.6 total troops of the seventh-ranked United Kingdom, and larger than the 25.2 total troops of the ninth-ranked Kingdom of Italy.

can be seen
Among the top ten powers in the world in terms of army size, eight are concentrated in Europe. The Ottoman Empire, ranked sixth, has an army of 8. Europe is indeed like a monster house.

Only the Qing and Chu countries were outside of Europe, occupying their own territories in the north and south of the Western Pacific, and did not interfere with each other.

In Central and South America

The meritorious veterans of the original 9th ​​Expeditionary Division and a large number of grassroots and low-level officers have retired and received generous war rewards. They own farms, houses, and women. They are densely distributed in towns and villages across Colombia and live a fulfilling life as landlords or manor owners.

The new 9th Expeditionary Division recruited new soldiers and restored its full staffing status.

A large number of recent graduates from the Manila Royal Army Junior College and many middle and low-level officers who have been suppressed in the army for a long time will be recruited to achieve force reorganization.

After these officers were promoted to the first rank, some were sent to serve in the 9th Expeditionary Division in Central America.

Most of them are serving in the newly formed 13th Division, the newly formed 14th Division or other divisions. They are undergoing intensive military training and have already developed strong combat effectiveness.

In addition to Military Base No. 77, there are nearly 25 East African Expeditionary Force officers and soldiers training at Base No. 51 and Base No. 13 near Xinxi'an on Shangri-La Island, mainly from the newly formed th Division.

The tropical climate conditions there are very similar to those in Madagascar, which will help the expeditionary officers and soldiers adapt to the local climate as quickly as possible and reduce non-combat casualties caused by acclimatization.

Lieutenant General He Ruolin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Royal Army, accompanied King Zheng Guohui of Chu to inspect the officers and soldiers who were training at Base No. 77. He delivered an impromptu speech, which was greeted with enthusiastic cheers from the officers and soldiers like a volcanic eruption.

The fiery eyes of these young officers and soldiers are full of desire for the upcoming adventure and conquest.

"My dear Lord He, the morale of the officers and soldiers is very high!" King Zheng Guohui of Chu walked down the rostrum with a smile on his face amid thunderous cheers, saying as he walked.

Lieutenant General He Ruolin was an old subordinate of the Tongzhou militia of the King of Chu. He was originally the garrison officer guarding Xuzhou. He led the Second Division to fight the famous Battle of Singapore and was a world-renowned brave warrior.

The Second Division won the title of "Devil's Division" and was unanimously regarded by the world powers such as Britain and France as the number one main force of the Chu State. All officers and soldiers in the division were extremely arrogant from top to bottom.

The results of it?
Lieutenant General He Ruolin was sent to the Royal Military Academy in Manila for three years, and then to Costaña as governor for ten years. He was transformed from a middle-aged soldier in his prime and full of vigor into an old man.

The original officers of the Second Division were split up into the newly formed Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Divisions. After years of rotation, the Second Division is now full of unfamiliar faces.

The former officers of the Second Division retired or entered politics, leaving only a group of loyal and honest people.

Be loyal to the king, be loyal to the country, not to a certain division commander. The number of the Second Expeditionary Division is still there, but things and people have changed.

Hearing His Majesty's praise, Lieutenant General He Rulin bent his back like a cooked prawn and replied with a flattering smile on his face:
"Your Majesty loves his soldiers like his own sons, and never mistreats them. This is another opportunity for us to make a name for ourselves, so how can we not be secretly happy?" Lieutenant General He Ruolin said with a forced smile, his heart filled with bitterness. King Zheng Guohui of Chu glanced at him, and saw Lieutenant General He Ruolin bend even lower.

He continued walking forward without stopping, saying as he walked, "We can't let the soldiers shed blood and tears! They are the meritorious officials who expanded the territory of Chu State and deserve the most generous reward. What is delicious to me is poison to you."

This last sudden sentence made Lieutenant General He Ruolin break out in a cold sweat, and he looked embarrassed and couldn't answer.

This was the King of Chu warning him again. Since the victory of the Battle of Singapore, Lieutenant General He Ruolin, who was awarded the title of Earl, had indeed become arrogant and his behavior had become domineering.

Domestic and foreign news media unanimously praised him as "the number one meritorious general of the Chu State", "a great contributor to the country", "a famous ancient general comparable to Fenglangjuxu", and "a general whose name will be recorded in history", etc.

This guy felt that he was a great man who could "turn the tide and save the collapsing building", but when he made a performance in front of the King of Chu, he just bowed perfunctorily.

I felt somewhat dissatisfied when I left the Singapore Expeditionary Force in that desperate place surrounded by the sea.

This is also a common problem among meritorious generals in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad. In the pursuit of countless people, they have become a little carried away and regard the platform's capabilities as their own abilities.

As a result, Lieutenant General He Ruolin suffered a tragedy. He was exiled away from the center of power for 13 years, and all the edges and corners of his body were worn away.

This is also because King Zheng Guohui of Chu cherishes his reputation and does not want to be suspected of "killing the donkey after it has done its work". Otherwise, it would be the easiest way to solve the problem with one knife.

The military commander of this expedition to Madagascar was Lieutenant General Pan Tianshou, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Royal Army, a down-to-earth man like a workhorse.

He may not be outstanding in ability, but he is loyal and reliable.

This should be the last performance of Lieutenant General Pan Tianshou's military career. If he performs well, it will lay a solid foundation for his promotion to Chief of the General Staff.

If you mess up, then don't say anything.

When the Chu King's fleet returned, Lieutenant General Pan Tianshou disembarked at Dinghai Port, accompanied by dozens of middle and senior officials to set up the team of the Governor's Office of Madagascar.

this time period

It is estimated that Lieutenant General Pan Tianshou is currently touring various training camps. The locally recruited armed militia has been training for more than two months and will assist the expeditionary force in combat. Morale is high from top to bottom.

The numerous wars of foreign colonial expansion waged by the Chu State eventually turned into a fantastic reality for military officers and soldiers to realize their dreams of getting rich quickly and achieving class transition. This can be supported by countless real-life examples.

Under the continuous propaganda of domestic newspapers and public opinion, the people of Chu were full of desire for colonial development.

This craze for foreign colonization prompted the middle and lower class people in the Chu State who were dissatisfied with reality to immigrate to remote colonies such as Shangri-La Island, Australia, Hawaii, Costa Rica in Central and South America at their own expense in order to change their fate.

Some people chose East Africa and the Congo River colonies, which led to a second wave of Chinese immigration and made an indelible and important contribution to the Chu State's policy of building frontier colonies.

Everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

While stories of adventure, development and wealth were constantly being told, the atmosphere in the country became impetuous, and the loss of many workers caused capitalists and business owners to complain bitterly.

Wake up one night

It turned out that more than half of the factory workers had left the factory along with their friends. After asking around, we found out that they had taken their families to the Congo River colony.

Today, the Congo River Colony has once again expanded its preferential policies for Chinese immigrants, offering 300 acres of land to each person upon arrival, which is 50% more than the original promise. Regardless of gender, age, or even unborn children, the land is granted.

The prerequisite is that they must be Chinese immigrants, including foreign wives and concubines in the family, but not foreign servants.

This was to cooperate with the Colonial Ministry's policy of focusing on immigration to the Congo River Basin. In order to reach an average annual scale of 40 people, it was necessary to offer immigration benefits that were difficult to refuse.

Among the many remote colonies of the Chu State

The preferential policies offered by the Congo River Company are unique to Scorpion Poop and cannot be matched anywhere else.

The five main islands of Chu State had long ago stopped the preferential policy of obtaining land for free, and even the surrounding Shangri-La, Guam, Saipan and Hawaii Islands had successively cancelled the preferential policies.

Only Central America (Note: including Colombia) and the Viceroyalty of Costa Rica in South America still have varying policies of free land donations.

The introduction of super preferential new policies by the Congo River Company has really disturbed many local residents and made them feel itchy.

After doing the math, many people's hands were shaking, their hearts were beating fast, and they couldn't sleep. So they gritted their teeth and made up their minds to move their families.

More than 20 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China
Many early Chinese immigrants had families with more than a dozen people, some with more than 20 or even 30 people, and many of them were not doing well.

Especially the lower-class working-class families, who are busy all day long, aren’t they just working for a few dollars?

What would happen if they made up their minds to immigrate to the Congo River colony and seek further development?
A family of more than ten people has four to five thousand acres of land, and a family of more than twenty people has seven to eight thousand acres of land. They can’t finish planting or eating all the land. They are definitely a landlord family!

Farming is an instinct ingrained in the Chinese immigrants’ DNA, and land is an irresistible temptation, which has attracted a large number of local residents to migrate for a second time and embark on a journey to West Africa thousands of miles away.

For example, factory workers, horsemen, rickshaw pullers, a large number of farmers and handicraftsmen flocked to the Congo River Company's recruitment agency to sign up.

All will be released after verification that they have no debts, bank loans, or criminal records.

Although such measures caused some social unrest, new Chinese immigrants from the northern continent quickly filled these gaps.

These new Chinese immigrants were burdened with ship ticket loans and could not go anywhere until they were repaid.

You can only settle down in the resettlement destination and work hard for a few years.

Once these new Chinese immigrants leave their resettlement areas and do not return for more than three months, they will be deemed deserters, which is a serious crime.

Once caught, they would spend the rest of their lives in a labor camp.

All wives and children were thrown into the human market and sold by the government as concubines or servants. In any case, they had no worries about where to go.

There are many Chinese immigrants who do not abide by the law and are hoping to get away with it. There are about five to six thousand of them every year, and they are basically caught very quickly.

Because the Chu State implemented a strict identity paper system, the identity papers of Chinese residents who settled in the local area were white, commonly known as "white paper", until they repaid their immigration loans and other loans.

Such identity papers can only allow Chinese immigrants to move within the county and, in addition to their main occupations of farming or working in factories, engage in carrying heavy loads, doing hard labor, driving carts, pulling rickshaws, setting up stalls and other occupations to supplement their income.

Once we leave the county, we will be exposed as soon as we investigate.

The identity document clearly records the time of arrival of this person. It will take at least 4 years for the person to repay the immigration loan. If the time is less than years, he or she must be an escapee.

Only after paying off the immigration loan and going to the local police station with the bank certificate can you apply for a formal blue identity paper. This is called "formal identity paper", also known as "blue paper" among the people. It gives you the right to travel around the country and even go abroad to do business and buy property.

You can go wherever you want, without any restrictions.

According to the latest Chu King's imperial decree in 1885
A photo must also be affixed to the "blue paper", with three copies of the photo kept on file at the police station in the place of residence, making the management more strict and standardized.

Of course

The Chu government gave six years to supplement the photos and issue the new "blue paper". Until March 6, 1891, the old "blue paper" would be completely invalid and of no use.

It takes such a long time mainly to take a black and white identity photo, which is very expensive nowadays, requiring a full 1.2 silver dollars, plus the cost and handling fee of replacing the new "blue paper", a total of two silver dollars, which is not a small amount of money.

The government will not cover this cost, but it will be borne entirely by residents.

If you think it's too expensive, you don't have to change it.

The original "blank paper" can be used to verify identity, and it is still valid within the county, so there is no need to think about secondary immigration.

The old blue paper expired on March 1891. Those who did not replace it would have no identity, and the consequences can be imagined.

Fortunately, six years was a long time, and most citizens were able to raise two silver dollars. The new policy did not cause much waves, but instead promoted the proliferation of photo studios.

After the inspection
The King of Chu also met with all the officers of the expeditionary force above the rank of colonel, and had individual conversations with each officer above the rank of colonel, which took up quite a bit of time.

It is a great honor for senior military officers to appear before the emperor alone and make reports.

When meeting, I would just say a few friendly words of comfort, point out where he had served in the past, and finally say a few words of encouragement, and that was it. It only took about five or six minutes to meet with an officer.

These five or six minutes are enough to be remembered for a lifetime.

These senior military officers who were received by the king basically came out on clouds, with excited expressions on their faces as if they had been injected with chicken blood, and they were eager to go through fire and water for His Majesty immediately.

Two days later

King Zheng Guohui of Chu and his entourage took a special train and returned to the royal palace in the capital Manila overnight because the Lunar New Year was approaching.

There are concubines, children and a large family in the palace. It would be bad to neglect any of them.

This trip to Europe lasted for more than half a year. After returning to the palace, the queen and concubines in the harem cried their hearts out and needed to be comforted.

Back in Manila
Seeing the dependent eyes of the women, King Zheng Guohui of Chu rediscovered the warmth of home. Seeing his children, big and small, he found his anchor in this world and touched the softest part of his heart.

(End of this chapter)