Nanyang Storm 1864

The outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in the Far East not only attracted the attention of the Western powers, but also the Great Chu Empire, which closely followed the latest battle reports and studied them carefully every day.

Royal Army General Staff Headquarters of the Great Chu Empire
It boasts the largest simulated sand table and combat simulation room in Northeast China, with everything based on real battlefield conditions, conducting combat simulations, drills, and sand table confrontations under various circumstances.

This aims to provide senior and mid-level officers of the Royal Army with a deeper understanding of the command and brutality of modern warfare and to offer them valuable insights.

After the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War

Its intensity and brutality far exceeded the imagination of army observers from around the world, presenting an extremely bloody and comprehensive confrontation, which greatly alarmed the generals of the Great Chu Army and made them pay close attention.

扶桑国于1904年2月6日正式宣布谈判破裂，2月8日夜间不宣而战，首先将矛头就针对旅顺港内的沙俄太平洋舰队。

After several naval battles
The Russian Pacific Fleet, which attempted to break out, was blocked back into port. Relying on the powerful coastal defenses of Port Arthur, the Russian fleet launched a counterattack in coordination with the main force, achieving effective results.

They sank one Japanese warship and damaged another that had forced its way in, temporarily stabilizing the situation.

After their naval offensive was thwarted, Admiral Togo Heihachiro, Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, switched to a blockade, sealing off the waters off Port Arthur completely, determined to annihilate the Russian Pacific Fleet.

On March 21, 1904, the 1st Army, commanded by General Kuroki Tamemoto, with more than 30,000 men, first landed at Chonnampo in Korea and then marched north, thus beginning an unprecedentedly brutal land war.

From April to early May, the Russian troops that landed in Japan advanced from North Korea toward the Yalu River. In the vicinity of Jiuliancheng and Liaoyang, fierce close-quarters battles broke out between the two sides, and the Russian troops were defeated and retreated.

End of May 1904
The Second Army of Japan, totaling approximately 4 men and 216 artillery pieces, under the command of General Okuyasu, landed at Piziwo in the southeast of the Liaodong Peninsula, attempting to capture Lushun from the north.

Upon reaching Jinzhou, the attacking Japanese Second Army encountered fierce resistance from the Russian Fourth Infantry Division. The struggle between the two sides over the Yonggu positions surrounding Jingzhou, Dalian, and Lushun became increasingly intense.

Some key positions changed hands repeatedly, and the Japanese, with their fierce attacks, repeatedly broke through the Russian defenses, inflicting heavy losses on them.

The battlefield was filled with the sounds of gunfire and the dead and wounded, presenting an extremely cruel and bloody scene.

Manila Royal Palace

Princess Shion

During this period, Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Dynasty did not go anywhere. He stayed in the central government and closely monitored the situation in Northeast Asia. The latest intelligence was transmitted to him in a continuous stream, which he found very exciting.

Typical example; someone who enjoys watching others gossip and is unafraid of making things worse.

The Great Chu Empire has not made any significant moves in terms of foreign colonial expansion recently, focusing instead on digesting and absorbing the results of previous expansions, with a particular emphasis on Java and Sumatra.

Apart from that, only a few princes caused some trouble on the Arabian Peninsula.

Originally, Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire wanted to take a look.

How capable are these little brats?
never thought

One after another, they petitioned the central government, asking for money, grain, policies, industrial assistance, administrative support, or something else, leaving him both amused and exasperated.

What happened to our promise of forging ahead and relying on our own efforts?
There were also many dissenting voices in the court and among the people. After all, these small kingdoms had already become independent, so how could they take advantage of the empire again?

In fact, the adult princes of the Great Chu Dynasty were feeling a bit jealous and resentful as they saw their elder brothers establishing their own governments and kingdoms.

I wish you were poor, I feared you were rich. I resented those who had, I laughed at those who had none.

Whether they were princes serving in central ministries or the military, or princes who indulged in pleasure and had little ambition, they were all surprisingly united in opposing providing assistance.

Some even came up with terrible ideas, demanding lavish tributes from these small kingdoms.

The princes wielded considerable influence, and the discussions even reached the Zichen Palace. Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Dynasty angrily rebuked them as "absurd," and as a result, the clouds parted and all the opposing opinions immediately dissipated.

“What I bestow is always for a reason. I value the virtuous, not the eldest, and the superior, not the majority. Nothing I do not say is valid. All rain, dew, thunder, and lightning are acts of imperial grace.”

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Dynasty's domineering words cleared the mind of the entire court, and no one dared to object.

An imperial edict was then issued;

The empire encouraged its citizens to engage in business and farming in the five kingdoms of Colombia, Dubai, Jeddah, Sarawak, and Yemen, offering each kingdom a package of preferential policies and providing varying amounts of financial support annually, primarily to support major projects related to national welfare and people's livelihoods.

Even a tiny bit of a finger showing would be enough to feed these five kingdoms indefinitely.

For example, regarding the food import problem that Dubai was struggling with, Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire specifically instructed that 1 tons of stored grain be allocated to Dubai every year for ten years.

It is mainly used to address the food shortage in the Kingdom of Dubai, ensuring that people don't go hungry.

This annual grain aid of 1 tons is nothing compared to the millions of tons of grain reserves held by the Great Chu Empire each year. It's like plucking a leg hair that's thicker than the waist. The food shortage problem that had been causing anxiety for the Kingdom of Dubai was thus solved in a grand and splendid way, and it was no big deal at all.

Since it's food aid, then it shouldn't cost money.

Each year, merchant ships traveling to and from Dubai carry some goods as ballast. Those immigrant ships can never be fully loaded, so carrying some along doesn't cost much.

It's not a big deal to carry two or three thousand tons of grain in the large hold at the bottom of the ship.
The Kingdom of Dubai does have some resources, and it won't let these immigrant ships work for nothing; it will provide some compensation.

For example, young Arab women, Arabian horses, and other specialties plundered from the Kingdom of Oman—who do they transport them to?

The smuggling business in the Dubai Kingdom has taken off, with plenty of women from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Azerbaijan, and Armenia being brought back in whole shiploads.

Tribal conflicts were frequent in those areas, and the living conditions were harsh. Every month, a large number of local women were used to trade smuggled goods, which created more channels for such transactions.

The trickles of water converged, creating a bustling scene of crowds in Dubai Harbour.

Making a quick buck during transit is enough to make the tiny kingdom of Dubai raksha rich and utterly satisfied.

Plundering through economic means is the most ruthless method.

After Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Dynasty did this, he felt a great sense of accomplishment and often said it to his close ministers.
"These little brats only know how to ask their father for things. Back in the day, who could I rely on? I had to work hard and persevere, creating this vast overseas empire from scratch..."

"Your Majesty is truly a sage ruler unparalleled in history, his expansion overseas is a feat that will last for generations..." Naturally, his close advisors showered him with compliments, which goes without saying.

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Dynasty didn't even consider that the Tongzhou Islands, which he initially conquered, were truly a wonderful place, with abundant sunshine, ample rainfall, and fertile land that yielded three harvests a year.

In just three or four months, another crop will be ripe.

They happened to encounter skilled Chinese immigrants who thrived in this blessed land. Like fish swimming into a great river, they worked with boundless enthusiasm, sending truckloads of grain into the warehouses.

From the Tongzhou Islands to the conquest of the Hainan Islands and Cebu Islands, and then to the expansion into the Shangri-La Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, the Tasmanian Viceroyalty at the southernmost tip of South America, the Borneo Islands, the Sumatra Islands and Java, all were vast fertile lands, and the Great Chu Empire never lacked food.

These vast southern regions, including the Congo River Viceroyalty in West Africa, are excellent places for rice production.

Looking back at the Arabian Peninsula where the princes lived, the environment was truly harsh, arid and with little rain, with endless deserts and wastelands everywhere. What could possibly grow there?

Even if some drought-resistant crops can be grown, the yield is very low, and food shortage remains a major problem.

It occupies a vast area, but its population carrying capacity is not strong.

The Great Chu Empire has occupied almost all the good places. Today, the Great Chu Empire not only exports grain to the northern lands, but also exports large quantities of grain and various processed agricultural products to Europe, occupying an important share of the international market.

For example, the Great Chu Empire was a leading supplier of agricultural products to major international commodities such as high-quality flour, sugar, wool and combed wool tops, palm oil and soybean oil, various processed foods, canned goods, cigarettes, spices and natural rubber, and its importance was self-evident.

With annual exports reaching millions of tons, it is one of the world's most important exporters of food and agricultural products.

It is precisely because of the Great Chu Empire's strong food supply capacity that the famine in the northern continent has been greatly alleviated in recent years. Although a large number of immigrants have left, the total population has not decreased at all.

Trade between the State of Chu and the northern continent was booming. Tea, porcelain, raw silk, cotton, and various handicrafts were being transported south by the ship to offset the trade revenue from exported grain.

There were also shiploads of white marble and Taihu stones, which sold very well in the Great Chu Empire, with annual transactions reaching hundreds of thousands of tons, bringing new industries to the north.

These measures alone enabled many local governments and the general public to make money and make their lives less difficult.

Some wealthy nobles and merchants of the Great Chu Empire, when building their courtyards and mansions, particularly favored the white marble and Taihu stones from the north. They would do anything to decorate their courtyards with these materials to achieve that unique Han Dynasty charm and spirit.

Using other rocks as substitutes always feels like something strange has been mixed in, and the flavor just doesn't feel right.

The main imports to northern China are grain and kerosene, which are major commodities related to the national economy and people's livelihood.

The oil produced by the Great Chu Empire almost monopolized the markets in China and Northeast Asia, including Japan, Korea, Vietnam in the Indochina Peninsula, North Vietnam (Black Flag Army), the French Saigon Governor-General's Office, the British Straits Governor-General's Office and the Indian Governor-General's Office, as well as the Kingdom of Siam.

Especially in the northern part of China, with the decrease in oil prices, the amount of imported kerosene has skyrocketed, reaching more than 2.6 million dan (a unit of weight) annually, worth tens of millions of silver dollars.

In 1903 year

The amount of kerosene imported into the northern continent surged again, exceeding 400 million dan (a unit of weight), worth more than 1600 million silver dollars. The three major brands, "Guangming Brand Kerosene," "Da Dongfang Brand Kerosene," and "Lianhe Brand Kerosene," were almost household names.

The Chu State's oil company launched a "buy kerosene lamp and get a free oil lamp" campaign in the northern continent. For every 10 catties of kerosene purchased, an oil lamp would be given away, which greatly stimulated the sales of kerosene.

From cities to villages, the logos of the "Bright," "Great Eastern," and "United" oil companies are ubiquitous, even in Japan and the Indochina Peninsula, making them the most influential export enterprises of the Great Chu Empire. (End of Chapter)