Nanyang Storm 1864

Yuehu Residence
"The British are really ruthless. They are determined to get this piece of South Africa!" King Zheng Guohui of Chu was holding the list of reports in his hand and couldn't help but be shocked after reading it.

Britain asked for half of the Chu State's ocean-going immigration ship capacity at one time, a total of 21 ocean-going immigration ships of more than tons, to transport large numbers of troops and logistical personnel to South Africa.

In addition, a large number of ocean-going transport ships are rented to transport large amounts of materials.

London planned to deploy troops from Australia, Sri Lanka, Canada, India and other overseas colonies, including large numbers of newly formed troops, as well as white immigrants from the British Isles.

Due to the long distance and the complexity of military organization and logistics, it is impossible for all prepared personnel to board the ship as soon as it arrives at the port, and there will definitely be more or less delays.

A trip to South Africa would take two or three months at the fastest, and countless at the slowest.

This is the true appearance of the British Empire's expeditionary warfare. In the Johnson Affair, the senior executive of the mining company rashly led 500 South African police and several machine guns to conquer the Transvaal Republic. It looked like a farce no matter how you looked at it.

In the luxurious suite on the top floor with Moon Lake view
This location is above the Prime Minister's official residence. It is the royal suite used by the King of Chu when he comes to inspect. Normally, no one is allowed to move around without permission.

Prime Minister Fan Zhicheng stood aside. The minister of ports, shipping and transportation, Mu Qing, was presenting the report. He bowed and said:

"Your Majesty

These are the ocean-going shipping capacities that the British side urgently needs. Not only do they need a large number of ships, but they also need them urgently. They hope that through coordination between the Ministry of Transport and major shipping companies, they can quickly allocate ships to open routes to South Africa.

Most of the current immigration ships are on the Pacific route, and there is indeed a certain degree of surplus shipping capacity, so it is not a problem to dispatch seven or eight ocean-going immigration ships.

But asking for more than 20 ships at once is probably worth discussing.

Commercial immigration flights cannot be completely cut off. The transportation plan has been formulated long ago, and many ships are currently unable to be withdrawn from the route.

Responses from major airlines
It will take at least three to four months to gradually withdraw the large migrant ships and put them on the South African routes needed by the British. This is a process."

"Well, arrange it as soon as possible. This month, allocate no less than 15 ships to the British. After all, they have paid." King Zheng Guohui of Chu said casually.

Mu Qing accepted the order respectfully and replied, "I will obey the imperial decree and make arrangements as soon as possible."

It is normal for an ocean-going transport ship to spend two to three months or even three to four months on a voyage. In addition, the transportation plan has been prepared in advance, so it is impossible to adjust it at will.

Since the Congo River colony cancelled its preferential policies, the 16 large immigrant ships operating on the Congo River ocean route, involving 7 shipping companies, have suddenly fallen into disuse.

nowadays

Only five large migrant ships are still operating on the West African route, ensuring that about two migrant ships arrive at the Congo River every month. The average monthly number of migrants has dropped sharply from 5 to 3.5 to less than 3.8, which is only one-seventh of the original number.

Some of the other large immigrant ships were used to replace smaller immigrant ships, and some were used on Pacific and South American routes to enhance the ability to transport Chinese immigrants to the region.

Britain's urgent demand just happened to release Chu's excess immigration transportation capacity.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu took a look at it, then put it aside and asked about the progress of the Panama Canal project that he was concerned about.

He said: "It has been three years since the Panama project resumed. How is the progress now?"

In October 1895, Mu Qing, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Transportation, led a team to Central and South America to conduct a systematic investigation of local large-scale engineering projects and gain a very good understanding of the progress of the projects.

Under the leadership of Mu Qing, this government ministry has a dedicated counterpart group for each large-scale engineering project, which continuously tracks the progress of the project, supervises the quality of the project, and is responsible for the corresponding use of financial appropriations and subsequent work.

So the answer is very organized.

Mu Qing replied:

"In reply to your Majesty's words
Three years since the resumption of work, the Panama Canal project has been progressing steadily and orderly according to the established time nodes, and has now entered the final stage of the project.

Over the past three years
A total of 1.87 million silver dollars has been invested in the project, and the excavation of the 83-kilometer main channel of the canal has been completed. The water depth of the canal is 18.2 meters, which can accommodate 10-ton ships.

until now
More than 80% of the investment in the locks at both ends of the Panama Canal has been completed. The main body of the locks, the pilot channel, the navigation piers and part of the slopes have been basically completed, and there is still a small amount of work to be completed.

Most of the gate steel components and related equipment customized from the United States are in place. The next step is installation, commissioning and finishing of the project.

Judging from the current progress of the project, it will take about one and a half years.

This massive canal project was planned to be completed by the end of 1898, specifically in late October, and would be navigable by ships.

There are still a large number of cables that have not been laid, and subsequent supporting facilities such as navigation lights, radio stations, power stations, office buildings, registration offices, etc. need to be built one by one.

In 1897
The total budget for the Panama project is 5250 silver dollars, which will be mainly used for the final navigation test of the finishing project, as well as the remaining canal bank slope projects, dock warehouses, etc. All engineering personnel will be mobilized to launch the final sprint.

In general
The overall plan for the reconstruction of the Panama Canal project was well-considered and well-organized. With the unprecedented enthusiasm of everyone working together, the entire canal project progressed smoothly.

The canal was successfully opened to navigation in November 1898, and the canal engineering department was fully confident that it could be completed."

After hearing the report, King Zheng Guohui of Chu showed a look of satisfaction on his face.

Instruct that the Panama Canal Engineering Department be commended in the name of the royal decree. This is a great honor for the Great Chu Kingdom and will be recorded in the personal files of every engineer involved in the canal project.

Plan B for the Panama Canal Project is to launch the alternative Nicaragua Canal. Although the latter is longer and more costly, it can accommodate more super-large ships in the long run due to the geographical conditions of natural rivers and lakes.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu considered it carefully and finally chose the plan to rebuild the Panama Canal.

After all, only one-third of this canal project has been built, and the Chu State spent a lot of money to take it over. Once it is completed, it can be used for hundreds of years and will not be outdated.

As for ultra-large ships, that is not something that needs to be considered at the moment.

The sooner it is built, the sooner it will benefit.

The current situation in Central and North America is not good. South Africa is currently a hot spot on the international stage, and the United States in North America is also restless and is meddling in the affairs of Cuba and Puerto Rico.

within the United States

Many hard-line colonial expansionists openly called for war against the Spanish, and their reasons were simple.

"Cuba and Puerto Rico are the promised lands of the United States. Under the nose of the aggressive Chu State, they may suffer the same fate as Colombia. America has an obligation and a sacred mission to save Cuba and prevent it from falling into the hands of evil forces..." In fact, it is a naked statement of aggression.

This formed a consensus in the American government and the opposition, especially US Navy Secretary Roosevelt, who was jumping around and trying hard to push for plans of military intervention in Cuba.

He said without hesitation:
"The United States has already lost Hawaii, lost Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador in Central America, and lost Colombia in South America."

"The influence of the Orientals spread to Central and South America, causing the United States to lose its vital interest in controlling the Pacific routes and pushing the front line right under America's nose."

"As a result, we lost a lot of territory that should have belonged to the United States and lost the Central and South American markets. The lesson is extremely painful, and we must never make the same mistake again."

"If America doesn't act quickly and seize control of Cuba and Puerto Rico, the same tragic defeat will happen again. The Chu people won't hesitate."

When the British are busy with other things, it is the perfect opportunity for the Americans to stir up trouble.

A full-scale anti-colonial war is now breaking out on the island of Cuba, and the situation is in chaos.

In early 1895, a large-scale uprising broke out again in Cuba. The local native white people served as the main force of the uprising and rose up to resist the brutal colonial rule of the Spanish.

Within two years, 2 Spanish troops had been defeated and more than two-thirds of the country had been liberated. The island of Cuba was now in flames, causing a large number of people to be displaced and suffer the pain of war.

These rebels were brutally suppressed by the Spanish colonial authorities.

The Spanish Governor Valeriano Villero y Nicolaeu implemented an unprecedentedly cruel policy of massacring villages and towns, wielding the butcher knife to indiscriminately kill the indigenous people and native-born whites of Central America, which strongly curbed the momentum of the uprising.

As many as half a million Cubans were forced to leave their homes and put into concentration camps, resulting in the deaths of more than 200,000 people, most of whom were women and children.

More than 2000 young native white women were bought by the Chu State to meet the marriage demand gap of Chinese immigrants in Central America, for which nearly million silver dollars were paid.

This large amount of funds further encouraged the arrogance of the Spanish Governor Valeriano Villar-Nicolas in pushing for a full-scale military suppression, and he obtained a large amount of weapons, equipment, food and military supplies from the Chu State.

As a result, Cuba became an export market for Chu products.

For this unfavorable situation

In the United States, public opinion was surging, with many criticizing the Chu State, saying it was "aiding and abetting the evil," that "every silver dollar earned was stained with the blood of white people in the Cuban colony," that "the Chinese were all evil businessmen," and that "they had created the tragedy of hundreds of thousands of family members being separated in disguise."

The Chu State was not to be outdone, mocking the Americans sarcastically: "Orientals are not barbaric enough to cut off scalps," "The organized killing of millions of Native Americans is a tragedy in human history," "Americans are executioners with blood on their hands, the real devils," "They keep talking about morality, but in fact they do all kinds of evil."

The two sides have been engaged in a verbal battle that has hardly stopped in the past two years.

Seeing that the British were in trouble, many world powers began to take action, including the State of Chu.

The United States has always been worried that the State of Chu would suddenly send troops to Cuba. In recent years, the annual budget of the navy has soared from US$1500 million to US$4000 million, and a large number of main battleships have been launched one after another.

By the end of 1896, the United States had 17 heavy battleships, and its naval strength ranked fifth in the world, almost the same as that of the Chu State.

After all, as the world's most powerful industrial country, the United States has made great efforts to build ships on a large scale. The speed of catching up is quite fast and the scale cannot be underestimated.

The Chu State had a large number of main battleships accumulated over history, and its naval strength ranked fourth in the world. It was especially famous for its long-range main battleships.

the past two years
The State of Chu also accelerated its original shipbuilding speed. In the Pacific Fleet with Hawaii as its home port, there were 5 main battleships, which could be said to be the most powerful force in the region.

In the Caribbean Fleet with Cologne as its home port, there are two new main battleships (note: not including the old ironclad ships Zhenhai and Zhenhe) and several armored cruisers, and its strength is quite strong.

If the Panama Canal can be opened smoothly, the Pacific Fleet will be able to support the Caribbean Fleet very conveniently, and the effect achieved will be far more than just 1+1 equals 2.

Once the Panama Canal opens

The Chu State's home fleet will be able to easily support the Caribbean Fleet. In a month at most, the home fleet will be able to gather heavy troops and interfere with the US military operations in Cuba.

This is something that the Americans are extremely wary of. The Chu State has publicly declared:

We do not want to see the situation in the Caribbean region deteriorate, nor do we want to see powerful countries outside the region interfere in the affairs of Central America. Maintaining regional peace is the sacred obligation of the Chu State.

If the Americans wanted to take action against Cuba and Puerto Rico, they would have to launch a full-scale military operation before the end of October 1898.

Defeat the Spanish. Take Cuba and Puerto Rico in one fell swoop.

Otherwise, wait until the Panama Canal is officially opened.

In a week at most, the Chu State Pacific Fleet will be able to easily enter the Caribbean Sea and reinforce the Caribbean Fleet.

In a month at most, the Chu State’s large domestic fleet would be able to arrive in the Caribbean Sea and interfere with the US military operations. That would be the end of it.

The State of Chu had been continuously building its Royal Navy for more than 30 years and had fought against the British and French fleets many times. Its powerful combat capability was unmatched in the entire Pacific region and it had been recognized as a world naval power.

Facing such a powerful enemy, the US Navy, which has been interrupted for decades, really has no confidence.

Minister of Ports, Shipping and Transport Mu Qing not only reported on the progress of the Panama Canal, but also reported on the construction status of large-scale projects such as the Transoceanic Railway in the Viceroyalty of Patagonia, the Circum-Atlantic Highway and the 5-ton deep-water terminal in Bahia Blanca.

The Transoceanic Railway runs from Zielo Island to Porto Blanca, with dozens of towns and thousands of rural ranches and farms built along the way. It is also one of the colony's largest projects.

The Blanca Deepwater Terminal is a world-class deepwater terminal built to meet the needs of the sharp increase in export volume to Europe after the opening of the Transoceanic Railway.

The project is large in scale, with high specifications and an astonishing investment.

Six deep-water docks, a large shipyard and two deep-water docks, together with supporting railway facilities, warehouses and dozens of processing plants, including three new large woolen mills, with a total investment of more than 6 million silver dollars, which is higher than the investment in the Trans-Oceanic Railway.

Once completed, Puerto Blanca will have the ability to repair nearly 2-ton main battleships, which will provide great support for the Royal Navy's ocean-going combat capabilities and is of strategic importance.

The main battleships of the Caribbean Fleet, the Atlantic Fleet and the Pacific Fleet, and even the warships assigned to the Congo River Governor's Office as far away as West Africa, can be fully repaired, maintained, overhauled and mid-term upgraded in Bahia Blanca.

Such capabilities are part of the expanded capabilities of ocean-going navies and have global strategic significance. (End of this chapter)