Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 515 Testing
Shangri-La Island (Note: New Guinea Island) is so vast that it is the second largest island in the world. It has Mount Jaya, the highest point in Oceania at 4884 meters, and a snow-capped mountain range stretching for more than kilometers.

There are also large rivers with astonishing amounts of water. The main rivers in the north of the mountain range are the Mamberamo River, Sepik River, Lamu River, and Makum River. The main rivers in the south of the mountain range are the Digul River and Fly River. They are all world-class rivers with water volumes far exceeding those of the Yellow River.

The upper reaches of these rivers are steep and fast-flowing, carrying a large amount of sediment. Alluvial plains of varying sizes are formed on both sides of the middle and lower reaches, with fertile land and lush vegetation.

The only areas that can be truly developed are the coastal plains at the eastern and western ends of the island, which account for about 3.5% of the entire island area.

these years
Shangri-La Island has discovered astonishing reserves of copper, iron, coal, gold and other rich minerals, as well as almost inexhaustible water resources, but none of them have been effectively developed.

The industrial development of the Chu State was concentrated on the five mainland islands. Shangri-La Island was still in its early industrial stage, limited to the deep processing of local agricultural and sideline products, as well as some necessary construction, agricultural tool repair, coastal and inland shipbuilding industries. The overall development level was not high.

Nothing is static. Some knowledgeable officials in the court and social elites petitioned the court to reform the system.

It is hoped that the Governor's Office, which has a strong colonial color, will be abolished and replaced by states, prefectures, and provinces, which will be directly governed by the central government. As for the part concerning Shangri-La, it is recommended that it be incorporated into the local provinces.

There are many opinions on the court's reform, and there are all kinds of plans.

To be cautious, King Zheng Guohui of Chu's inspection was also to make preparations for the reform of the court.

Take a look around, understand the people's sentiments firsthand, and evaluate the local economic development achievements, so that you can at least have a clear idea of ​​the situation.

Since its development, Shangri-La Island's total population has exceeded 1220 million, reaching more than million. The overall economic development is stable and the people live and work in peace and contentment.

Future development priorities

It is located in the undeveloped fertile alluvial plains in the coastal areas, relying on the central cities at the east and west ends, and distributed along the coastline, mainly in the newly established prefectures and counties.

The reform of the imperial court is a major national event that affects the entire country and cannot be done lightly.

It requires repeated consideration and a clear understanding of the situation before it can be promoted and implemented at the right time.

The government has established the Chu State Reform Committee, which is equivalent to the court departments and agencies in level, to discuss, screen, test and improve various court reform plans.

This time span is at least 10 to 15 years.

The reason why King Zheng Guohui of Chu had such considerations was that he wanted to take advantage of the unprecedented victory to implement reforms after sending a large-scale military expedition to Java Island and completely establishing the territory of the Great Chu Dynasty.

Thus

The central government clarified the divisions of power from the prefectures, counties, towns, and villages, and the Governor's Office, which had a strong colonial flavor, withdrew from the stage of history, which became a natural thing.

This time's inspection tours of various places imply important reform considerations and are particularly meticulous and thorough.

September 7th, 2025

His Majesty the King of Chu's inspection fleet arrived at Balikpapan, the largest coastal port city in the former Dutch-occupied East Kalimantan Province, with very advantageous geographical conditions.

This was the first time that the King of Chu's inspection team came here, which ignited unprecedented welcome enthusiasm from the Chinese residents in the city. Hundreds of thousands of local residents lined the streets to welcome them. It was a huge crowd and an unprecedented grand occasion.

The King of Chu toured around the country and came to Balikpapan, where there was a dispute with the Dutch, which aroused strong protest from the Dutch side.

It is extremely inappropriate to believe that this sends a wrong message to the international community.

Then there is no more then.

The world stage today is full of excitement. Britain, the Netherlands and Germany are all vying for the right to speak in European public opinion and are arguing fiercely.

Led by the rising German Empire, the European Tripartite Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy was challenging the global hegemony of the British Empire, and an irreconcilable sharp contradiction had formed.

In particular, the naval development led by the arrogant German Emperor Wilhelm II deeply stimulated the British, making them feel directly threatened, and thus placing the German challenge at the top of the strategic threat list.

The British were getting closer and closer to the Franco-Russian alliance, with the aim of using the power of France and Russia to balance the German-Austrian-Italian alliance and form a new strategic balance.

The Germans' blatant provocation on the South African issue made Britain furious, and this became the direct factor in the open breakdown of relations between the two countries.

In this case
The Dutch strongly protested diplomatically, but apart from being published in major newspapers in Amsterdam, there was no response from other major European media. Almost no one cared about what was happening in Southeast Asia.

Not long after

The world's public opinion was attracted by the Spanish-American War that broke out in the Caribbean, and almost no one cared about what happened in the South Pacific, as it was too far away.

Since the American warship "Maine" exploded and sank in the waters of Cuba on February 1898, 2, the Kingdom of Spain has taken a series of actions to try to reverse the dire situation.

All we can say is that the Kingdom of Spain was too naive. At this time, America had already shown its sharp fangs, so how could it stop?
At the end of March, the Kingdom of Spain abolished the concentration camp system in Cuba at the request of the United States and proposed that the bombing case be submitted to international arbitration.

However, the US government ignored it and rejected the joint mediation of the six European countries and the Chu State in early April. It insisted that it was the Spanish who blew up the battleship "Maine" and put the blame directly on the Spanish.

On April 4, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives authorized President William McKinley to launch an armed intervention in Cuba. At this point, the Spanish-American War was inevitable.

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives jointly resolved on the 20th:
It declared Cuba's independence and demanded that Spain withdraw its troops, otherwise it would go to war, with a deadline of April 4 to give a satisfactory answer.

No matter how cowardly the Kingdom of Spain was, it would never agree to such an unreasonable demand. Thus, the Spanish-American War broke out.

In Nanyang

The King of Chu's inspection fleet sailed from Balikpapan, through Banjarmasin and several prefectures and counties, to Ketapang in West Kalimantan, almost circling the coastal area of ​​Sumatra.

It was more than 5 days later when we finally arrived in Pontianak, Lan Fang on May 3rd.

During this period

The Kingdom of the Netherlands launched eleven consecutive strong protests, accusing the Chu State of brazenly invading the Dutch East Indies, brutally enslaving and assimilating the local indigenous people, expelling Dutch white forces, seizing property, occupying women, and wantonly trampling on the sovereignty of the Dutch colonies.

I shouted until my throat was broken, but it didn't make any waves.

When the King of Chu's inspection fleet arrived in Pontianak, the Dutch, who had been furious, finally shut up. They had more important things to do.

Because London had sent more troops to South Africa, the Dutch hurriedly launched a strong protest against the British, criticizing the British for disregarding international morality and wantonly trampling on the territorial sovereignty of the Boers.

After resting for a few days in the Pontianak Palace, King Zheng Guohui of Chu was in a very good mood and even took the time to listen to a play.

This time, he deliberately visited the former Dutch-occupied areas of Kalimantan Island, bringing this long-dormant topic back into the public eye.

The general public certainly doesn't care, but those who are interested will definitely notice it.

This was a blatant affront to Dutch colonial sovereignty and a deliberate stress test to see how world public opinion would react.

The result made King Zheng Guohui of Chu very satisfied, and he immediately issued a royal decree.

In view of the complex and more dangerous international environment that the Chu State is facing today, the Chu State Royal Army has once again expanded from its original size of more than 29 to 36.

From June 1898, the army's divisional size was further expanded from 6 to 19 divisions and 25 regiments to strengthen the defense of the mainland and overseas colonies in response to possible invasion risks. Undoubtedly, this was just an excuse.

The entire Nanyang region and the overseas colonies of the Chu State were basically safe, and no one was so blind as to want to invade the Chu State's territory.

Whether it is the Governor's Palace of the Congo River, the Governor's Palace of East Africa, the Governor's Palace of Patagonia or the Governor's Palace of Central America, even the Governor's Palace of Madagascar acquired in recent years, all have a considerable Chinese population.

The local Chinese population is all over one million, and some are as high as over ten million. Combined with the kingdom's developed domestic shipping support and land and naval forces, it has a strong war capability.

Who would be so blind as to tackle this tough problem? Aren't they afraid of losing a few teeth?
This is the truth, but no one can refute the reason why Chu State expanded its military massively.

The Spanish-American War broke out in the Caribbean. In the northeast of the Far East, the contradictions between Britain and Russia became increasingly acute. Tsarist Russia made no secret of its greedy appetite for the Manchuria and Mongolia regions of China, and frequently took actions to immigrate and increase troops.

The situation in Africa was also not peaceful. Britain, Germany, France and Belgium were all expanding frantically and seizing colonies. The conflicts in South Africa were most acute.

If things go wrong, there will be another big war.

Under the current world situation, the reasons for Chu's military expansion are beyond reproach.

Among them, only the Dutch are the most anxious.

Everyone knows their own business. The Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies was always under great invasion pressure from the State of Chu. For this reason, it had persisted for more than 20 years in building fortresses and strengthening the defense of key locations.

Its purpose is to implement the overall defense policy of "repelling the enemy at the mudflats and ports and carrying out a decisive battle on land."

Can it be achieved?
The Dutch themselves were also worried. The State of Chu was no longer what it used to be. Over the past thirty years, it had grown into an industrial power with a population of billions, and its national strength was becoming increasingly powerful.

The Chu army was armed to the teeth, possessing the world's most advanced army weapons and artillery, and had extremely strong offensive capabilities. It had almost no rivals in the entire South Seas and Asia.

Even the newly rising Fusang Kingdom did not dare to claim to be stronger than the Chu State.

A person's name, the shadow of a tree.

After all, the State of Chu was a military power that once head-on repelled the Anglo-French coalition forces. It is an undeniable fact that both its army and navy fought with great success.

Looking around the world

Who else could remain undefeated under the powerful attack of the British and French forces?

Even though it was more powerful than the Russian Empire, didn't it still suffer a bitter defeat? After the Crimean War, the fruits of victory in the Russo-Turkish Wars were almost spit out with blood.

Such a brilliant and glorious record is unique in the world, like a scorpion shitting!

capital of Java

Batavia (Jakarta)

On the second floor of the Governor's Palace of the Dutch East Indies in the old city, in a spacious office with European-style furnishings on the east end, a floor-standing kerosene fan was spinning, blowing warm air towards you.

Governor-General Lord Carel Hermann Alte van Wyk wore a white shirt with two buttons undone at the collar, revealing his shaggy, light yellow chest hair.

He held a glass of Hennessy cognac in his hand, took a sip from time to time, and said in a hoarse voice:

"What the hell! Those Chu people will take action here sooner or later. This large-scale military expansion is just preparation for war.

When that day really comes, no one will be able to defend this isolated island, not even Napoleon.

I must be transferred back to China as soon as possible without any further delay.

Dear Schmidt, I need you to return to Amsterdam as soon as possible and take most of my belongings with you, as well as Emily and the children.

I need the help of Emily's family so that I can return home as soon as possible and find a decent job. These riches can come in handy.

I don't want to stay in this damn place for a moment, so I'll let the unlucky guy who takes over clean up the mess."

Opposite him was Mr. Schmidt, the Governor-General's confidant. He was a tall, thin, middle-aged white man who was a lawyer and served as the Governor-General's senior secretary.

Schmidt also had a glass of brandy in his hand. After taking a sip, he asked with a puzzled look:

"Excuse me, Your Excellency the Governor
On the affairs of the Dutch East Indies, Britain and the Netherlands had a strategic consensus and jointly curbed the further expansion of Oriental influence in the South Seas.

There is no need to hide the fact that the Governor's Office was indeed unable to withstand the pressure from the Orientals.

But according to my own point of view
The powerful king of Chu was not crazy enough to risk breaking off relations with Britain by launching a war to invade the East Indies.

This is more than just a war. If the British cut off the Eurasian trade route, the Chu State would suffer hundreds of millions of dollars in losses every year. Will they really do this? "

"Don't you read the newspapers, Schmidt? The relationship between the British and the Kingdom of the Netherlands is very bad right now."

"Your Excellency, that's just in South Africa. I don't think it will affect strategic cooperation in the South Pacific. These are two different things."

"You are too optimistic, my friend. The British have no interests that cannot be sold as long as the price is right."

"You mean... that the people of Chu can afford such a high price."

"Perhaps. Let me remind you, dear Schmidt. The Chu State possesses a natural fortress in the Red Sea and is also capable of cutting off the Eurasian shipping lanes, which could come in handy at a critical moment."

"Oh, my God! It would be a total war. The Orientals would have to be crazy to do that."

"Maybe nothing will happen. Cutting off the Eurasian route will do more harm than good to Britain and Chu. Think about it, why should the British do this for us?" Governor Vic's face flushed, but his eyes were exceptionally clear, with a glimmer of wisdom.

He is one of the small group of people at the top of the power structure in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He stands at a higher position, sees further, and has a clearer understanding of the European situation and regional strategy.

The so-called strategic consensus between Britain and the Netherlands and the so-called red line of Java Island are only the products of a certain period and cannot be regarded as a permanent reliance.

The rise of Chu was so unstoppable that the strategic consensus between Britain and the Netherlands 30 years ago had become as unreliable as paper.

It is wishful thinking to expect the British to fight for the Netherlands.

Schmidt can't catch up with this aspect.

As expected, Schmidt was so shocked he couldn't speak. He stammered, "Oh... Damn it! How... How is this possible? But... well, I have to admit you have a point. This... this worst-case scenario could really happen."

"Go get ready, buddy. Take the next cruise ship from England to Europe. Emily and the kids are ready. Bring some capable people back with you. Be sure to pay attention to safety."

"As you wish, Your Excellency the Governor, I will carry out your orders without hesitation."

(End of this chapter)