Nanyang Storm 1864

At the end of the year

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire used his supreme imperial power to pardon 17 white men who were not deeply involved in the Penang incident and instead sentenced them to hard labor ranging from 5 to 12 years.

This is a gesture of goodwill towards the Western world, leaving room for maneuver and not going too far.

The remaining 39 Dutch criminals involved in the case were executed on December 6, drawing tens of thousands of spectators who cheered loudly.

After this incident
Relations between the Kingdom of Holland and the State of Chu reached a freezing point, and hatred grew wildly in the hearts of the Dutch. However, the Netherlands had no way to deal with the behemoth that was Chu except through verbal attacks.

The State of Chu didn't care. In the words of Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu, "How high can a tiny European country, no bigger than a booger, rise without its overseas colonies?"

Although the words were simple and straightforward, they hit the nail on the head.

For old European colonial powers like the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal, their era and glory had long passed.

The 20th century was an era of great power rivalry and upheaval. With a slight turn of events, these small fry could be crushed, leaving them with no stage to perform on.

The Spanish-American War, initiated by the United States, completely ended the Spanish colonial history.

The Second East Indies War, initiated by the State of Chu, completely ended the Dutch colonial dream that had lasted for more than three hundred years.

Belgium seized the Portuguese colony in Mozambique, leaving the Portuguese with only a small colony in southern Angola. This was like breaking the backbone of the Portuguese, and their former glory was long gone.

The tide of the times surged forward, leaving the old-fashioned colonizers, who had stuck in their ways, in the background.

Just after the Lunar New Year of 1903, on the ninth day of the first lunar month...

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire arrived at the Royal Manila Shipyard. He had always been very concerned about the construction of the Royal Navy fleet. The Royal Navy was a key area for military development in the Great Chu Empire and the cornerstone of the power of this vast maritime empire.

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Dynasty was well aware of the situation.

He could tolerate the Royal Navy being inferior to Britain, but not to Germany, France, and the United States; he absolutely could not allow it to become a pushover that everyone could bully.

The Great Chu Empire's territory spans four continents and five oceans, making it a typical maritime empire. The challenges it faces in its distant sea territories are extremely severe, allowing no room for complacency.

The entire development pace of the Royal Navy was in the hands of Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu.

If we use a long-distance running analogy...
The Royal Navy of the Great Chu Empire has always remained in the first echelon, keeping its eyes fixed on the leading Britain ahead, as well as Germany and France nearby, and the United States closely following behind, steadily maintaining its own pace.

After Germany surged ahead and took the lead in the race against Britain, Britain deliberately sped up its pace, highlighting its leading advantage.

The State of Chu, meanwhile, lay in ambush within the leading group, maintaining its own pace and waiting for an opportunity to overtake them by a large margin.

This was a marathon that lasted several decades. While Britain focused most of its attention on the Germans, it was less vigilant towards the distant state of Chu.

The State of Chu did indeed develop comprehensive diplomatic relations with Britain, with extremely close bilateral exchanges in politics, economics, culture, trade and business at all levels, making Chu a global partner of Britain.

In one's heart

The State of Chu and England could never be on the same side, and London probably thinks so too; the mutual exploitation between the two sides outweighs other factors.

If we unite, both will benefit; if we separate, both will suffer.

current stage
In terms of naval military power, the State of Chu was inferior to that of Britain; in terms of land military power, it was inferior to that of Germany and France; and in terms of economic power, it was inferior to that of the United States.

Current priorities

The key lies in keeping up with the new technologies and inventions emerging from the Second Industrial Revolution, focusing on developing the economy, and continuously expanding the domestic market. This population of 129 million is itself the greatest wealth.

Industrialization brought prosperity to the entire population of Chu, creating a huge domestic market, which was the foundation for the empire's development.

This would then extend the influence of the Great Chu Empire to the Indochina Peninsula, the Middle East, the Near East, East Africa, West Africa, Central and South America, and other regions, vying for international markets. This was also a brutal competition for the right to survival and development.

The cake is only so big; if you take one more bite, I'll have one less.

The deep-seated contradictions between Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, and between Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary, stemmed from this. As long-established world colonial powers, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union had already occupied a large number of colonies around the world before the end of the 19th century, and were all global colonial powers.

They were well-fed and completely satisfied, making them clear beneficiaries of the existing benefits.

The German Empire, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were established relatively late, mostly after the 1870s. In their early years, they focused on the complex competition in Europe and had little time to look at the world.

Once they have temporarily resolved their immediate problems and look out for the world, where will these emerging countries find a place to live?

The Germans acted swiftly, sending troops to Namibia and Tanzania in 1887 to seize two African colonies through superior military force, establishing German Southwest Africa and German East Africa colonies.

They also seized a piece of territory in Qingdao, East Asia, and that's all.

Italy was in a bad situation; Tunisia, which it had its eye on, was occupied by the French. This is a classic case of first come, first served.

This led to Italians harboring resentment towards France, and was one of the important reasons why Italians were willing to form a tripartite alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary—in order to avenge France.

Italy has long sought to colonize the Kingdom of Ethiopia on the African plateau, which remains the only independent indigenous Black kingdom in Africa to date.

Unfortunately, it was blocked by the combined forces of Britain and Chu. The British Sultanate and the Chu East Africa Governorate spanned the entire southwestern coast of the Red Sea, shielding this highland kingdom from the outside world, making it a de facto landlocked highland country.

Without the permission of Britain and Chu, the Italians, no matter how capable, could not fly over.

Precisely because of this factor

The Kingdom of Italy had maintained relatively close economic, trade, and cultural relations with the State of Chu, attempting to conduct transactions behind the scenes, but the State of Chu simply refused to budge.

This is the colonial predicament of emerging world powers. Any attempt at overseas colonial expansion cannot bypass the three major world colonial powers: Britain, France, and China. This is the harsh reality of the world today.

A heavy rain had just passed, and the air at the Manila Naval Shipyard was filled with the fresh scent of rainwater. Puddles of all sizes dotted the shipyard's grounds along the bay. At a glance...
Along the bay, a dozen huge slipways were filled with giant ships under construction, thousands of workers were busy at work, and high-pressure pipelines stretched across the ground like tangled snakes, exuding the atmosphere of steam-powered Cthulhu industry.

Led by the Manila Naval Shipyard, more than twenty shipyards of varying sizes lined up along the bay and resumed operations as early as the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, all displaying a thriving production scene.

The shipyards in this region employed 70,000 to 80,000 people and were one of the shipbuilding centers of the Great Chu Empire.

Supported by the technical expertise of over a dozen universities in the Greater Manila area, everything from warships to cruise ships, from bulk carriers of tens of thousands of tons to ocean-going refrigerated vessels, can be built here. It is also the shipbuilding center industrial belt with the strongest technical capabilities in the Great Chu Empire.

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire, accompanied by his entourage, inspected the 4.6-ton ore bulk carrier, the 1.82-ton immigrant ship, and the 3.2-ton oil tanker, all of which were shipbuilding orders from major shipping companies of the Great Chu Empire.

In today's world
The competition for shipbuilding orders was fierce. British ships would not be built in Chu, nor would ships from Germans, Americans, or Italians. They all prioritized the development of their own shipbuilding industries.

The same applies to the State of Chu. Chu's commercial shipping fleet ranks first in the world, and now 100% of its ships are built domestically. In addition, with some small orders from neighboring countries, it can meet the construction needs of hundreds of shipyards in the country.

The State of Chu was a large country in terms of territory, a maritime power, a shipping power, and the world's second-largest trading nation, with an almost inexhaustible demand for ocean shipping, coastal shipping, and inland waterway shipping.

Inland waterway transportation alone supports hundreds of small and medium-sized shipyards.

We continued walking forward for a while.

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu saw the "Aceh," the last of the Manila-class C-type warships, which was also the 13th ship, in the 30,000-ton dry dock. The tall ship was as tall as a fourteen or fifteen-story building, and the scene in the dry dock was particularly spectacular.

The "Aceh" is 87% complete. The fore and aft main gun turrets have been installed, and the tall steel triangular mast is in place. It is just waiting for hoisting and the final procedures.

From the dock, one can clearly see the thick side armor belt that runs from front to back through two-thirds of the warship's hull, a full 34 centimeters thick, made of the famous Manila bulletproof armor steel.

This special type of bulletproof armor steel ranks among the world's top in all aspects and is now the flagship product of Batangas Special Steel Plant.

In words
The discussion turned to the new "Coconut City" class battleships, which are currently undergoing approval. The design blueprints for the ship have just passed the first review, but experts and officers from the Royal Navy have raised dozens of comments that require rework and improvements.

The main power source has been determined: four large marine steam turbines and 16 high-pressure steam boilers produced by Nanyang Heavy Industries, which can generate a total of 25,500 horsepower, enough to drive the 21,000-ton behemoth to speed up to 20 knots on the sea.

This would have been unthinkable a decade or two ago.

This is the tremendous technological progress that can be achieved under the rapid development of the Second Industrial Revolution.

The new "Coconut City" class battleships adopted a humpback-style main gun turret, which is the first time in the world that this new technology has been used. It is unique and groundbreaking. The related twin-mounted main guns have undergone hundreds of tests at the Anclaise Proving Ground to verify the performance of its main guns and ammunition magazine delivery system.

The new main gun ammunition depot transport system is fully electric and is equipped with two diesel-powered generators. With a total of four twin-mounted turrets, that's eight diesel-powered generators.

In this technological field, the State of Chu, along with Germany, was among the world's leading states.

The University of Manila has 37 German professors, 15 French professors, and 9 British professors, as well as renowned experts from European countries such as the United States, Austria-Hungary, the Netherlands, and Belgium, all of whom were recruited at high salaries.

In the Great Chu Empire, the Chinese experts cultivated over the decades have become the main force in technological development, jointly forming the backbone of the empire's scientific and technological progress.

Admiral Ho Chu Seng, the Royal Navy Minister, was originally the Commander-in-Chief of the West African Fleet. After the passing of his predecessors, Admiral Ho Hai Seng and Vice Admiral Robert, he took control of the Royal Navy and was His Majesty's chosen successor.

Nothing else, just enough loyalty and obedience.

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Dynasty has consistently prioritized loyalty over ability in his personnel selection over the decades. Those who meet the standards required for His Majesty's important responsibilities are far beyond the reach of ordinary people.

While accompanying His Majesty on the inspection, General He Zhucheng noticed that His Majesty did not seem to value the battleship "Aceh" which was under construction, but instead frequently looked to the side.

Following the gaze, he realized it was the "Qian" Ding submarine, a new development by the Chu Kingdom's Royal Navy.

It turns out that His Majesty is already very familiar with battleships, but is extremely interested in submarines, a new and exciting technology.

From the perspective of the Royal Navy's own needs
It can be summarized in four words: the "big ship, big gun" strategy that is universally pursued by navies around the world today. This is true for the British, the French, the Germans, and the Americans, and even the people of Chu.

As for submarines, which are small devices weighing only a few hundred tons, the large amount of research funding was invested in them because His Majesty liked them, and the research and development has been carried out in a consistent manner.

However, within the Royal Admiralty, there weren't many people who genuinely valued submarines.

The "big ships and big guns" policy is the way to go. As for things like submarines, the Royal Navy generals really don't care about them and won't devote much enthusiasm to them.

This is also due to habit. People who are used to doing big business worth hundreds of millions or tens of millions of dollars are unlikely to care about these small tricks that cost a few cents.

The submarine project is a key project of His Majesty's attention. Even though the high-ranking officials of the Navy are not particularly concerned about it, the research funding and the development of related new warships are fully guaranteed.

During these years of tight budgets, the Navy has never cut any projects, and it would never cut the submarine project that His Majesty has been keen on, as the related funding has always been quite abundant.

Because of this
The submarine technology of the Great Chu Empire has always maintained a world-class level. In response to its own needs for long-range operations, the submarines developed by the Great Chu Empire are generally large in tonnage, with the latest class reaching 920 tons.

It is only one step away from becoming a submarine with a displacement of 1,000 tons.

no way

For any type of warship developed by the Great Chu Empire, ultra-long range is an unavoidable and essential requirement.

This is because the sea area of ​​the Great Chu Empire is so vast, covering almost all five major oceans of the world. Actual needs determined the development direction of the Chu Royal Navy, and long-range voyages were an essential requirement.

For long voyages, warships are indispensable.

Compared to their European counterparts, the first-class main battleships assigned to the Chu Kingdom were generally 20-30% larger in size, with the core requirement being long range and the ability to conduct transoceanic operations.

This has always been the primary need of the Royal Navy fleet of the Great Chu Empire.

This applies to battleships, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and even cruisers and submarines; long range is the primary requirement. (End of Chapter)