Nanyang Storm 1864

Speaking of

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire bears a large part of the responsibility for the problems that have arisen in grassroots townships, which has led to a situation where local forces are deeply entrenched.

The initial intention was not wrong: to use retired soldiers as the backbone of grassroots townships and reward them with land for their service and other preferential policies. Various measures were introduced to help these loyal soldiers take root in the countryside.

Compared to ordinary Chinese immigrants, they started from a much higher point.

For decades
The number of retired soldiers and officers who returned to their hometowns reached hundreds of thousands or even millions, and they have evolved into a typical gentry class, consisting of large and small farm owners, ranch owners, plantation owners, and wealthy households in villages and towns. They have become the most steadfast base of support for the rule of the Great Chu Empire.

These landlords and gentry were like the skeleton of the human body. After being filled with Chinese immigrants as flesh and blood, they formed the strong body of the Great Chu Empire today, and their contribution was truly indispensable.

Times change.

When the industrial civilization of the Great Chu Empire developed to a certain level, the drawbacks of this feudal system became apparent, posing a problem for Emperor Zheng Guohui of Great Chu to solve.

Many retired officers and soldiers from the Imperial Royal Army returned to their hometowns and became village chiefs, township heads, and other positions with considerable power, serving in these roles for decades.

After the father died, the throne was passed down to his son. They developed clan relationships, intermarried and woven a network of connections, gradually forming a rural Brahmin system that almost monopolized any lucrative positions.

The more remote the area, the more severe this situation becomes.

Most of the Brahmin families in these towns are wealthy, with many wives and children, making it easy for them to become powerful and influential families that others dare not mess with in the countryside.

As a result, a series of strange things began to emerge, including bullying men and women, forced buying and selling, seizing land and property.

Over the past ten years

Violent crimes frequently occur in rural areas, such as setting up private courts, murders, and dumping bodies in rivers and ponds. These cases are not uncommon and are on the rise, with hundreds or even thousands occurring every year.

Rural areas are places where the rule of law is weak, and we don’t know how many evil deeds are hidden in the fog.
This is like the erosion of a disease, corroding the healthy body of the grassroots villages of the Great Chu Empire, causing many villages to malfunction and become the private kingdoms of certain greedy individuals.

The tranquil countryside is far more complex than it appears.

This was also the original intention of Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire, who proposed that village chiefs be elected and village committees be re-elected every three years, with a maximum of two consecutive terms.

The next step is to assign high school students with ideals and drive to serve in rural areas, which is also a new way to replenish the grassroots development with new blood.

As for town mayors and deputy mayors, they will be selected and appointed by the county government. Most of them will be young college graduates who have been trained at the grassroots level for two to three years. These young people are idealistic, enthusiastic, energetic, and full of drive.

By continuously injecting fresh water into a stagnant pool, it is revitalized.

During the patrol
Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Dynasty is also considering reforms to relevant rural policies, which need to be implemented steadily while avoiding strong backlash from vested interest groups at the grassroots level.

As times progress and we have entered the 20th century, some old policies that are no longer in line with social development need to be reformed.

The vast majority of retired officers and soldiers returned to their hometowns, and while becoming wealthy, they actively gave back to their communities, building bridges and roads, and donating to ancestral halls and temples. Overall, their performance was good.

Only a small minority of people, unable to control their inflated desires, went astray in the absence of checks and balances.

Only by widely publicizing the government's new policies, implementing a universal village election system, and supplementing it with legal oversight can the current situation at the grassroots level be changed.

The meal must be eaten one bite at a time, and the road must be walked step by step.

After completing its long-term strategic plan for expanding its empire, the Great Chu Empire is now focusing its efforts on internal governance, with rural democratic election reforms being one of its key initiatives.

The inspection tour followed the many prefectures and counties of Shangri-La, with most of the journey taking place along the main highway on the north side of the island, taking twenty-six days to traverse the prefectures and counties.

They arrived in Donggang Prefecture on August 14, 1902.

The reason it took so long was due to the inspection of the three prefectures and 16 counties of Dahe Prefecture, Wanyuan Prefecture and Beining Prefecture, which took a long time.

These three prefectural governments were established for a period ranging from over twenty years to over ten years, with the newest county government having been established only seven years ago. They have a short history, a weak foundation for development, and are typical agricultural areas.

Their geographical locations, arranged sequentially eastward from Xi'an, are all situated on the northern slopes of the Xueshan Mountains, distributed across the alluvial plains of major rivers, and possess relatively superior agricultural production conditions.

Shangri-La Island (Note: New Guinea) is shaped like a long pancake. In the middle of the island is a snow-capped mountain range that stretches for more than 2,300 kilometers, the highest of which is Mount Jaya, which is over 4000 meters high, dividing the entire island in two.

The southern slope of the island is divided by valleys and hundreds of rivers. It is covered with tropical rainforests and ravines, with an average annual rainfall of 3000 to 7000 millimeters, which has nurtured countless rushing rivers.

The region with the highest rainfall receives rain almost year-round and is known as the "water tower of Oceania".

Such a harsh tropical rainforest climate is completely unsuitable for human survival.

The northern slope of the island presents a different scene altogether, with towering snow-capped mountains gradually decreasing in altitude along the north slope, forming a large intercontinental plateau with an altitude between 800 and 1600 meters, as well as lowland plains and wetlands in the coastal area.

The climate here is consistently between 21 and 24 degrees Celsius, with little annual temperature variation, fluctuating by only 2 to 3 degrees Celsius. The area is blessed with abundant sunshine and rainfall, making it ideal for agricultural production.

Based on this

The vast majority of the newly established prefectures and counties are located on the plains of the northern slope of the island, arranged in a line along the coastline.

There is only one province located on the southern slope of the entire Shangri-La Island, namely Donggang Province, which is located at the southeastern apex of the island.

Due to its high altitude, the climate here is mild and cool all year round, with rainfall roughly the same as in the Jiangnan region. There is no winter or sweltering heat, making it a typical tropical maritime climate.

After more than a month of inspections

The impression of the Great Chu Emperor's Council was very deep. The economic development of the entire Shangri-La Governorate showed a typical phenomenon of "high at both ends and low in the middle".

The new Xi'an Prefecture and Donggang Prefecture have a long history of establishment and have accumulated profound experience. Their regional economic development level is far higher than that of the other three prefectures, showing a superior trend.

The total urban population of New Xi'an Prefecture exceeded one million, reaching 107.65. It was the largest central city on the island and the seventh largest city in the Great Chu Empire.

compare with

Donggang Prefecture was far inferior. By the end of June 1902, the city had a population of 688,200, ranking 19th among cities in the Great Chu Empire, almost falling out of the top 20.

This paled in comparison to the rapidly developing cities of the empire.

But compared to the other three prefectures of Shangri-La Prefecture, it's like trying to pick up a snail with three fingers... a sure thing!

Of these three prefectures, the one with the largest population has only 260,000 to 270,000 people, while the one with the smallest population, Beining Prefecture, has only 87,400 people, which is less than the wealthy counties under Donggang Prefecture.

Originally, Dahe Prefecture, Wanyuan Prefecture, and Beining Prefecture were key areas for the Great Chu Empire's colonial administration to settle new immigrants. With the arrival of a large number of new Chinese immigrants, the regional economies were expected to experience significant and rapid growth. However, plans are often subject to change.

After the victory in the Second East Indies War, the Great Chu Empire focused its immigration efforts on the former Dutch-occupied areas of Java and Sumatra to fill the gaps in the local indigenous population.

The massive influx of immigrants originally allocated to these three prefectures immediately turned into a trickle.

This year and a half
In the vast areas of the three provinces mentioned above, fewer than 1.7 new Chinese immigrants were allocated, which was barely enough to be considered a small number.

As a vast empire, the Great Chu Empire covered a total area of ​​1657 million square kilometers, far exceeding that of France, Russia, and Qing. Most of its territory was suitable for agriculture and had a strong capacity to support its population.

Beyond the core islands of Hainan, Cebu, Tongzhou, and Java, most of the region remains sparsely populated, with virtually endless uncultivated land.

Taking Shangri-La Island as an example, of the 78 square kilometers of the island, the existing cultivated area accounts for only slightly more than 8%, indicating a vast potential for future development.

Unfortunately
Over the next decade or so, the in-depth development plan for Shangri-La Island will not be a priority for the colonial department of the Great Chu Empire and will have to be temporarily shelved.

The islands ranked at the top are naturally the Hainan Islands, the Tongzhou Islands, and Cebu Island, as well as Java Island, Sumatra Island, and Australia, which were recently incorporated into the territory of the Great Chu Empire. All of them are in the upper ranks.

The Shangri-La Islands, located downstream, can at best rank eighth or ninth in priority.

Who knows when it will be possible to fill the labor shortage in the aforementioned regions in response to the Second Industrial Revolution and replenish the immigrant population to Shangri-La Island?
Current situation

It was no longer the heyday of the Li family in northern Anhui, which had two governors-general more than 30 years ago. After Li Hongzhang, the Beiyang Minister, signed the humiliating treaty of defeat in 1901 in accordance with the emperor's orders, the situation had changed.

Unable to resolve his inner turmoil, he soon fell ill and died in Beijing at the age of seventy-nine. Posthumously, he was granted the title of Grand Tutor, promoted to First-Class Marquis of Suyi, and given the posthumous name "Wenzhong".

My father-in-law, Li Hanzhang, retired to his hometown in 1895 and passed away as early as 1899. In official circles, people have long since forgotten those who have left.

With local governments in northern China frequently setting up obstacles to immigration, coupled with the Qing court's ban on entry into the three northeastern provinces, the historical wave of migration to the Northeast reappeared.

This further diverted migrants from provinces such as Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong, and Henan, resulting in a significant decrease in the number of people heading south by boat or going overseas.

In this day and age, information is scarce and most people are ignorant and superstitious. Unless absolutely necessary, who would be willing to abandon their family and children and go to Southeast Asia to seek a way to make a living?
In addition, changes in the Chu state's immigration policy have reduced the annual number of Chinese immigrants to less than one million, compared to the peak of nearly 400 million immigrants per year in the early days of the state's founding.

In recent years, the number of immigrants has fluctuated around 800,000 to 900,000 per year.

There are only so many immigrants from the north. After dividing them among the top-priority regions, there are not many left on Shangri-La Island, which has become especially noticeable in the last two years.

Another aspect

The Great Chu Empire entered a new stage of development. Birth, aging, illness, and death became unavoidable, and the average annual death toll rose rapidly from over one million to one million six or seven hundred thousand, thus curbing the rapid growth of the total population.

It is expected that in the next few years
The annual death rate will continue to rise, exceeding 200 million per year, which will largely offset the increase in the number of newborns.

This caused the population growth curve of the Great Chu Empire to flatten out, which was a necessary stage in its development.

Fortunately, with the addition of over 20 million indigenous Javanese laborers, the Great Chu Empire is not short of laborers for the time being, and can at least sustain itself for seven or eight years.

At this stage

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire formulated a shift from "quantity to quality" and remained remarkably calm about the slowdown in population growth.

With a total population of 124 million, the Great Chu Empire takes a more relaxed approach to population growth, focusing instead on improving the quality of its citizens.

The main purpose is to promote and popularize five-year basic education, develop emerging cultural industries such as radio, newspapers, movies, and photography, focus on the theme of Chinese nationalism, and strengthen the patriotic enthusiasm and cohesion of the people across the country.

Only by laying a solid foundation can we make great strides forward.

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire steadily controlled the direction of the empire's development. He was unhurried and calm in governing the country, preferring to proceed slowly and steadily.

The government's current ten-year development goals are focused on domestic economic and livelihood development, with more than 90% centered on integrating new regions, including Java and Australia. This is the top priority at present.

Only by fully digesting and integrating it can it be transformed into real strength.

Regarding external expansion, it only mentioned "further strengthening the external influence of the Great Chu Empire and protecting the interests of overseas Chinese."

That's all.

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire repeatedly emphasized this point during routine imperial meetings;

Avoid being overly ambitious and don't be like a bear picking corn, picking one ear and then throwing it away.

The current governance policies of Yuehu Official Residence are in accordance with the decree of His Majesty the Emperor of Great Chu, focusing on the development of domestic industry and commerce while significantly reducing foreign involvement.

Today's world
Britain, which was the first to industrialize, was left behind by emerging industrial nations such as Germany, Germany, and the United States during the Second Industrial Revolution, and its development in both light and heavy industries was faltering.

Due to the British people's stubborn adherence to tradition and their tendency to follow the old ways, the old factory facilities, which originated from the steam industry era, are no longer able to adapt to the rapid changes in the world today.

Faced with competition from emerging industrial powers, these old British factories went out of business one after another.

The Second Industrial Revolution was a new wave of industry represented by electricity and chemistry. In this field, Germany's electrical industry developed particularly well, with a constant stream of new inventions.

The chemical industry in the State of Chu was developing rapidly. A new type of synthetic rubber was born in the laboratory of the University of Manila and was quickly transformed into productivity, becoming a new technological field in which the State of Chu was leading the world.

After decades of development

The State of Chu possesses world-class expertise in the field of special steel, especially its renowned Manila bulletproof steel, which is exported far and wide, becoming a special steel variety that major naval powers around the world purchase at great expense.

Its performance indicators are ahead of the world's advanced level.

Since the beginning of this year
When Britain was preparing to build its new Dreadnought-class battleships, it purchased 1.5 tons of ultra-thick Manila bulletproof steel plates in bulk to build the battleships' bulletproof armor belts.

This batch of special steel is enough to build the three new Dreadnought-class battleships planned.

This batch of special steel was ordered in the middle of this year. According to Nanyang Heavy Industries' production plan, it will be put into production in the second half of the year and delivered next year.

This is a core product needed for Britain's next generation of battleships, and they actually have to rely on the Chu State steel mill for supply.

From this
Since its Victorian era of glory, Britain has declined rapidly, both in terms of international influence and industry. (End of Chapter)