Nanyang Storm 1864

The Chu State was promoted to the Great Chu Empire, and the total territorial area increased from the original 831 million square kilometers to 888.3 million square kilometers. This is the consistent statement in official propaganda.

The added areas include the newly conquered 43.4 square kilometers of Sumatra, the world's sixth largest island (note: not originally counted), and 13.88 square kilometers of Java, all of which are densely populated prime areas.

The total population of Chu State therefore grew to 1.12 million (Note: the original 1700 million indigenous population in the region was not included in the statistics, while the millions of indigenous women who were exported and became members of Chinese families were counted), making it a world power with a total population second only to that of the United Kingdom and slightly more than that of the Russian Empire.

From its outbreak to its end, the Second East Indies War had only a local impact on the populous Chu Empire, and it was mostly positive.

In this war of foreign expansion and colonialism
Since the entire war lasted only two months, it was characterized by large scale, high intensity and short duration. A total of more than 7340 million silver dollars were consumed in the war.

During the war, the Chu expeditionary force suffered 1.33 casualties, including 3406 deaths, which was far from being a serious injury.

The newly added territory expanded the market for the Chu Empire to dump its industrial and agricultural products, eased the crisis of gender imbalance in the country, and completely established its dominant position in Southeast Asia.

By exporting a large number of indigenous women and other measures, huge amounts of funds were raised in disguise for war expenses and post-war reconstruction, which further boosted the demand for industrial and agricultural products.

Coupled with the huge demand from the South African War, large orders continued to pour in, creating a booming market.

First quarter only
The State of Chu received material orders totaling 3161 million pounds, including 7.2 beef cattle, 140 million sheep, millions of tons of refined flour, millions of sets of individual cowhide equipment, an astonishing amount of steel products and cement, as well as a large amount of sugar, rubber, tobacco, palm oil, freight trucks, weapons and ammunition.

The combination of several factors created the foundation for the rapid growth of industry and commerce in the Great Chu Empire in the early 20th century.

Economic growth in the first quarter reached 11.7%, the highest point in the past decade or so. Total steel production in a single quarter exceeded one million tons, both of which are record-breaking figures.

In particular, the development of industry and commerce in the Congo River colony, stimulated by the strong demand from the South African war, saw explosive growth, attracting a large amount of Chinese capital to West Africa to open factories and start businesses, and their business flourished.

Steel industry only

Seven or eight joint-stock private steel mills applied for construction, and all of them were approved without exception. Those that moved quickly have already started construction on the land, and the steel mill equipment imported from the UK will also be in place within the year.

There are also some cement factories and a larger number of food processing factories that have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

Emperor Zheng Guohui knew clearly

This is just a false prosperity driven by the needs of war. When the tide recedes, a large number of surfers will be washed to death on the beach.

But this is the inherent logic of the free market. The government is only responsible for taxation, and businessmen are responsible for both market risks and returns of their investments.

these years
Some industries in the Great Chu Empire were overdeveloped, market competition became increasingly fierce, and many companies collapsed in the darkness before dawn.

The Second East Indies War that broke out at this time provided many companies on the verge of trouble with a way out, which was like a life-saving straw.

Now that the newly occupied areas have been ravaged by war, the Chu Royal Army is still organizing targeted clearing operations, dividing the areas into zones, strictly prohibiting the movement of indigenous populations, and exporting a large number of young indigenous women.

All of this has caused serious damage to the original production and living order.

The sharp reduction in grain production will inevitably lead to a gap in food supply. Many indigenous residents who remain in the indigenous villages are either old or young, and may die in large numbers in the impending famine.

On the one hand, a large number of indigenous men were conscripted into hard labor, and young women were exported to outer islands, resulting in an extreme shortage of agricultural production capacity.

On one side, large tracts of farmland are left fallow, which is the pain of the transition from the old to the new order, and has appeared countless times in the colonies conquered by the Great Chu Empire.

Life is born out of destruction, and new buds sprout after a forest fire.

Post-war Java Island must undergo a painful baptism before it can be reborn. This is the only way for national integration.

A large number of towns, represented by the construction of the new site of Fengtian City, require large-scale construction. The required food, construction steel, cement, trucks, daily necessities and other production materials have brought endless business opportunities to local enterprises in the Chu State.

The Great Chu Empire, through the large-scale export of indigenous women to the five islands, indirectly collected huge amounts of social funds to pay for war expenses and urban and rural reconstruction. Large-scale construction has been fully launched.

Plans for new roads, bridges, docks and urban construction were submitted one after another, and huge amounts of money flowed out like water, which would form a new construction boom in the occupied areas.

As many as two to three million Javanese laborers were scattered across construction sites in the occupied areas.

The high intensity of construction, the large number of construction projects and the wide scope of construction are unprecedented in the history of the Great Chu Empire.

The Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire has officially issued an imperial decree, expanding the Chu mainland to seven islands, namely the Hainan Islands, Cebu Islands, Tongzhou Islands, Shangri-La Islands, Sumatra Islands, Kalimantan Islands and Java Islands, almost covering the entire South China Sea region.

When the national strength reached a certain level, the development of the Great Chu Empire entered a new historical stage and it already possessed the grandeur of a world power.

By June, bad news came from the north.

Because their own interests were damaged, many foreign powers invaded Shenzhou with force. Empress Dowager Cixi issued an order to declare war on all nations. The darkest scene in China's modern history occurred...

Until the end of the year

The Great Chu Empire has always focused on domestic affairs, and the Prime Minister's Office has carried out major administrative adjustments.

The former Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Transportation was restructured into the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Commerce and Culture was restructured into the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Culture, the Imperial Propaganda Department was added, and the Ministry of the Army and the Ministry of the Navy were added to further streamline the functions of the Great Chu Empire government.

Especially in recent years
The gradually liberalized cultural market has seen the emergence of hundreds of news agencies, magazines, newspapers, news agencies and book publishing houses. The emerging broadcasting and film industries have developed rapidly, which has brought about a subversive change to the cultural field.

In order to strengthen government management, it is necessary to set up a special high-level agency to unify propaganda at home and abroad and guide the cultural industry to develop in the right way to serve the interests of the Great Chu Empire.

It was against this historical backdrop that the Imperial Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Propaganda came into being.

The establishment of the Royal War Office and the Royal Navy Office was a natural outcome, strengthening control over the military.

By the early 20th century

The Royal Army of the Great Chu Empire has developed into a world-class army with 35.4 officers and soldiers, 19 expeditionary divisions, 32 independent infantry regiments and hundreds of battalion-level fortress defense forces, and has a strong ability to carry out armed intervention overseas.

The Royal Navy of the Great Chu Empire has developed into a naval force with 23.6 officers and soldiers, 19 main battleships and dozens of cruisers, and has a powerful maritime force capable of decisive battles and victories in the ocean-going main fleet.

It guards the vast territory of the empire of 812.3 million square kilometers, is the vanguard in safeguarding the interests of the Great Chu Empire, and is also a powerful weapon for demonstrating the power of the empire to the outside world.

Based on the need for more comprehensive control of the armed forces, it is necessary to establish the Ministry of the Army and the Ministry of the Navy.

The top priority of the Great Chu Empire now is to fully digest the newly occupied areas, stabilize and rebuild the new order, and comprehensively promote infrastructure construction.

On the reunified island of Sumatra, three major highways and one railway line were constructed, mobilizing a total of 13.4 indigenous laborers. Over seven months, a significant amount of earthwork has been completed, with roads and bridges being built amidst the barren mountains and dense forests, demonstrating a vigorous construction momentum.

The main construction area is the former Dutch-occupied area, which will be connected with the highway and railway trunk lines that had long been built by the Great Chu Empire in the northwest of Sumatra, forming a major land transportation artery running through the entire island.

After more than seven months of intensive construction, nearly 7% of the land portion of the project has been completed. It is expected that by the middle of next year, several major highways and railway lines will be basically connected.

The construction difficulties

As for bridges across major rivers, seven bridges with a span of more than 300 meters need to be built, which takes 2 to 4 years.

During this period
Basically, using ferries to solve the problem of cross-strait travel is the most feasible solution.

At the same time, the construction of cities, docks, mines and town roads in the occupied areas was also carried out simultaneously.

From Sumatra to Java, a total of two to three million indigenous laborers toiled profusely on construction sites, setting off a construction boom.

The infrastructure debts accumulated by the Dutch colonists over the years are rapidly changing in the hands of the Great Chu Empire. Countless roads are extending in all directions, and hundreds of bridges are being built.

The reconstruction of more than a dozen cities, as well as the construction of a large number of farmland ditches, reservoirs and other basic facilities, are progressing in an orderly manner under the supervision of thousands of colonial officials and officials of the General Department of Corrections.

This shows the profound foundation of the Great Chu Empire's development over the past thirty years, its strong organizational capabilities and amazing financial resources, which quickly changed the face of the occupied areas.

After the Emperor of the Great Chu Empire issued an edict to list the seven islands as his territory

In-depth construction on Kalimantan Island and Shangri-La Island (Note: formerly Guinea Island) is also included in the agenda.

Super-large projects include the ring road on Kalimantan Island, the development of the world-class Bagapura copper mine on Shangri-La Island, the Ok Tedi copper and gold mine, the construction of the North Slope Highway and the new port city, all of which are large-scale infrastructure projects.

In particular, the Baghpura copper mine is located about 40 kilometers southwest of Puncak Jaya, the highest peak on Shangri-La Island, and 177 kilometers from Xi'an. It is located in a plateau area with an average altitude of 2770 meters, making it difficult to develop.

The advantages of the Baghpura copper mine are its huge reserves, high copper grade, shallow burial depth, easy mining and extremely high value.

The difficulty lies in the fact that it is located inland, and it is necessary to build a 229-kilometer plateau railway to transport the mineral resources from the inland.

This railway winds across mountains and requires 2 to 3 locomotives to tow it. It is quite difficult to build and requires a lot of manpower.

The initiative to develop this world-class copper mine has been going on for more than 20 years and has always been suppressed by the imperial upper echelons, and the project has yet to be approved.

Today, the clouds have finally cleared and the sun has finally appeared.

In order to build this world-class copper mine, the central government of the Great Chu Empire specially allocated 8.2 indigenous laborers, half of whom were to be invested in the construction of the plateau railway.

At another Ok Tedi copper-gold mine on Shangri-La Island, a world-class mine only 126 kilometers away from Donggang Province, large-scale construction is also underway.

In order to advance the project, the central government of the Great Chu Empire specially allocated 2.7 indigenous workers to strengthen the construction force of the project.

After the completion of these two world-class mines, they will have an annual production capacity of 38 tons of refined copper, which will bring a stable income of hundreds of millions of silver dollars to the Great Chu Empire and have the ability to continuously expand production.

In other words, only after the new occupation of Java Island could a steady supply of indigenous laborers be mobilized to start the previously shelved large-scale infrastructure projects one by one, with more than 40 mining projects alone.

After being included in the local sequence

The original approval barriers for some large-scale industrial and infrastructure projects no longer exist, allowing long-planned projects to move forward, further stimulating the hot construction market.

The seven mainland islands now gather 84.3% of the country's population, contribute more than 97% of the industrial output and 77.9% of the agricultural output of the Great Chu Empire, and have already possessed strong cohesion.

It is time to let go and develop vigorously.

The launch of these large-scale infrastructure projects has strongly boosted domestic demand. In the first three quarters of 1900, the steel production of the Great Chu Empire soared to 372 million tons.

More than a dozen large and small steel mills in the country are operating at full capacity.

It is expected that if there are no unexpected events throughout the year, steel production will exceed 500 million tons, setting a new historical record.

Such a strong steel production capacity ranks third in the world after the United States and the United Kingdom.

Nowadays, most of the large and small bridges, reservoirs, urban sewers, urban buildings and docks built by the Chu State use reinforced concrete structures, abandoning the earlier wooden or stone construction methods.

New reinforced concrete bridges or buildings are fast to build, have good quality, are strong and durable, and have outstanding advantages.

On the battlefield in South Africa

After the British Expeditionary Force captured Pretoria, General Roberts' 4 troops, who had fought bloody battles for several months, rested in place, indicating that the war was coming to an end.

But the tenacious Boers did not admit defeat. Instead, they broke up into small groups and launched extensive guerrilla warfare.

The long supply line from Cape Town to Pretoria was constantly attacked by resisting Boer guerrillas, resulting in heavy losses.

Only in November 1900
During the incident, 17 trains were attacked, a large amount of supplies were burned, looted and fell into the valley, with losses amounting to millions of pounds.

At this time, the major cities and railway lines in Transvaal and Orange had all been occupied by the British Expeditionary Force, and the Boer army began to switch to guerrilla warfare, which was also the most troublesome thing for the British.

In Johannesburg and Pretoria, the British army also thwarted several Boer uprising attempts.

The British originally thought that capturing the Boer capital would mean the end of the war, and all that remained was public security and anti-riot operations.

But I never thought that this was just the beginning of the disaster.

The Boer army that withdrew from the city had now broken up into several guerrilla groups that attacked the British army everywhere.

Under the leadership of chiefs such as De Wet, De La Rei, Botha, Jan Smuts and James Herzog, the Boer guerrillas made full use of their strengths in field combat, horse riding and archery, and roamed across the vast land of South Africa.

They attacked British transportation lines everywhere, plundered British supplies, annihilated small groups of British troops, and accumulated small victories into big ones.

The British army was exhausted and, facing the Boers' flexible and maneuverable tactics, was as slow as a clumsy giant. The battlefield situation was not optimistic. (End of this chapter)