Nanyang Storm 1864

Even deep within the palace, Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu could feel the robust economic development within the empire and the strong aura of wealth permeating society—the most prominent characteristic of the arrival of the golden age.

Only in the Greater Manila area
Last year alone, a staggering 38 vehicles were registered, resulting in severe traffic congestion on the streets. Even on the extremely wide Glory Avenue, congestion was a frequent occurrence.

Glory Avenue is indeed very wide, with a total of 18 lanes in both directions, which can accommodate a huge flow of traffic.

The problem is that other main roads and urban auxiliary roads are not wide enough, and urban traffic control is lagging behind, especially at intersections, which have become the focus of congestion.

This prompted the Great Chu Empire to urgently reform its urban traffic police force in 1914, primarily deploying it in major and medium-sized cities across the empire, including Metro Manila, Batangas, Davao, Zamboanga, Jakarta (formerly Bazavia), New Xi'an, Cebu, Honolulu, Panama, Kinshasa, Pontianak, and Sri Bajau, achieving significant results.

In the past two years, with the significant increase in national income, automobiles, bicycles, radios, woolen and silk clothing have entered the homes of the vast majority of imperial subjects, greatly improving the living standards of urban residents.

Enameled washbasins and toilets began to be used more and more in households, and clean and hygienic ceramic tiles were also widely loved by urban families and were quickly promoted.

The emerging sanitary ceramics industry has thus flourished, with hundreds of manufacturers emerging in recent years, resulting in a large number of jobs and increased national output, further improving living standards.

This situation has also led to a surge in demand in the automotive, bicycle, radio, and electronic component industries, with the overall outlook being very positive.

It was precisely because of these factors that Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire gradually lost his desire to wage war against the United States.

He also realized

The outbreak of World War I created a huge market gap, providing enough room for both Chu and Mei to eat their fill and thrive, without having to fight to the death.

If the United States were truly defeated, the Great Chu Empire would likely suffer greatly.

Moreover, the United States has another trump card: with the recent escalation of the war in Europe and the country's protracted war of attrition, Britain, France, and other countries are suffering greatly and have further intensified their efforts to win over the United States to the war.

If the United States, under strong pressure from the State of Chu, were to abandon its "glorious independence" policy and join the Allied military alliance ahead of schedule, then the State of Chu would no longer be able to wage war against the United States.

Once war is declared, it will be a war against the entire Allied military bloc.

This is precisely what is currently troubling Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire: when to join the increasingly heated war and reap the remaining benefits.

Both the Allied and Central Powers military camps extended olive branches, eager to win over the Great Chu Empire to the current European war.

Given the size of the Great Chu Empire, if it were to join the current European war, it could easily expand the war to the whole world, creating a situation where war rages everywhere.

While the United States will most likely join the Allied military camp, the possibility of it joining the Central Powers, led by Germany, without hesitation still exists.

From the heart

Does Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu want to fight?
Germany's terms included granting Britain the Straits Settlements, France the Indochina Peninsula colonies, and the Great Chu Empire unimpeded access to Syria, which would be confirmed in the post-war division of spoils.

Especially the last point, which betrayed the interests of the Ottoman Empire within the Allied military camp, was a concession that was both substantial and tempting.

However, Germany demanded that the Great Chu Empire send no less than 1.6 million troops to Europe, which would require a total national mobilization, and at least four to five such mobilizations.

In the postwar arrangements, Germany promised to consider allowing the Great Chu Empire's influence into Europe, specifically Albania in Eastern Europe, which was extremely attractive.

Unfortunately, the Allied military bloc, led by Germany, was destined to fail, and the Great Chu Empire would not choose that path.

In contrast, the Allied military bloc, led by Britain and France, offered the condition of recognizing the existing territories occupied by the princes of the Great Chu Empire, including Jordan along the Red Sea coast, the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa, and Ecuador and Peru in South America.

The two South American countries of Ecuador and Peru had been destroyed and became prey for the expeditions of South American princes, on which four new kingdoms were established.

The main condition for the Allied military alliance to entice them to join the war was to fully recognize the territories newly occupied by the princes of the Great Chu Empire during their expedition. In addition, in the post-war division of interests, the Great Chu Empire's power could be given the opportunity to take over Syria.

That is
Both sides were betraying the interests of others. For example, the Germans offered to give you all the benefits of the Straits Settlements and the French Indochina colonies.

But this would require the Great Chu Empire to send troops to wage war, expand its territory, and win its own spoils, thus tightly binding itself to the German war machine.

Is this offer tempting?

Of course, it was tempting. The Great Chu Empire's homeland was located in the western Pacific region, and it had a natural covetousness for the British Straits Settlements and the French Indochina Peninsula colonies. This was an empire's instinct.

In this time of global chaos, how tempting would it be to truly bring the Western Pacific region to a standstill?

The region has a large population and a long cultural history, possesses excellent conditions for port development and agricultural culture, and is also a hotspot for future global economic development.

If it could be swallowed whole, the empire would immediately rise to the next level and stand proudly at the pinnacle of the world.

In contrast, the terms offered by the Allied military bloc were far less attractive.

Most of the prizes were already in the hands of the Great Chu Empire. Only Syria remained as an enticing territory, allowing the Great Chu Empire to formally advance into the Mediterranean and occupy a large area along the North African coast.

That's because, as late-developing countries, whether it was Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, or Bulgaria, they had very few overseas colonies and simply had no choice.

Germany's five overseas colonies were divided among the four countries of Britain, France, Chu, and Fusang (the Shandong Peninsula), while the other Central Powers military alliance members basically had no overseas colonies.

All the good lands were occupied by England, France, and Chu, and even Germany didn't gain much territory.

Therefore, Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire was very disdainful of the terms offered by the Allied military alliance and had no motivation to join the war early on.

Will you participate in the future?
The answer is yes.

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire planned to formally join the Allied military alliance sometime in mid-1917 and participate in the full-scale war against the Central Powers.

At this stage
The Allied military alliance, led by Britain and France, was preparing to launch a large-scale Battle of the Somme, which would be the most brutal and deadliest battle on the Western Front in the entire history of World War I.

1916 was the year of the decisive battle between the two major military blocs. In addition to the unprecedentedly fierce Battle of the Somme, there was also the Battle of Verdun, which was a veritable meat grinder, both of which greatly depleted the military strength of both sides.

The casualties in a single battle can easily reach hundreds of thousands, and that's just the publicly reported figure. The actual casualty figures are two or three times higher, and are much larger than what has been revealed.

This has become a common practice for both sides in war to underreport their own casualties and overreport the enemy's.

The Great Chu Empire had no desire to touch it, nor did it want its subjects to die needlessly, so it politely declined.

After suffering several major losses, let's see if the Allied military can come up with any new terms.

Since we've already planned to participate in the war, if we can squeeze out more benefits, then it's a win, isn't it?
Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire's greatest wish was to acquire a piece of land in Europe, even if it was small, so that he could legitimately expand the Great Chu Empire's territory to the five continents and six oceans of the world, and achieve the glorious reputation of the "empire on which the sun never sets."

Without European territory, it always feels illegitimate.

If they could get involved in Europe, it wouldn't be impossible to join the war ahead of schedule at the end of 1916 or the beginning of 1917. The key would depend on the bargaining chips offered by the Allied military bloc.

Eastern Europe, the Balkans, or anywhere around the Aegean Sea—the Great Chu Empire doesn't discriminate.

The Allied military bloc, primarily composed of Britain and France, was well aware of the demands of the Great Chu Empire, but was extremely resistant to them, and internally, the various countries were not of one mind.

Britain was the most vehemently opposed, while France was ambiguous. Tsarist Russia, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium all strongly opposed it, so the resistance was enormous.

In the eyes of these European countries

The Great Chu Empire was a true prehistoric dragon. If it were to extend a claw into the Mediterranean or even establish a forward outpost in Europe, it would be far from a pleasant experience.

No matter how difficult it is, we must grit our teeth and refuse the unreasonable demands of the Great Chu Empire; it's simply impossible.

These European countries had their reasons for their apprehension, mainly because the Great Chu Empire had a terrible reputation in the past two years and was regarded as a major destabilizing factor in the world.

Under the guise of a prince's expedition, the Great Chu Empire conquered territories throughout the Middle East, South America, and East Africa, destroying more than ten countries and establishing about twenty new kingdoms on the ruins of war—all vassal kingdoms of the Great Chu Empire. This made European countries feel that the Great Chu Empire was extremely aggressive and deeply uneasy.

Don't say that it's just children playing around. European countries can see through this kind of trick to fool children at a glance, and they are extremely wary of the Great Chu Empire.

Without the strong support of the Great Chu Empire, how could things have gone so smoothly?

The image of the Great Chu Empire, which had been cultivated for over a decade and focused on domestic development, has now collapsed, making it difficult to regain the trust of European countries.

In the eyes of Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire, this was no big deal.

Taking advantage of the global chaos, let's grab the practical benefits first. The kids all want to establish their own nation, so we need to get some territory outside.

Keeping things bottled up isn't good either; you absolutely mustn't develop depression.

As for international reputation, Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire previously showed great importance to it, but in the past two years, his reputation has been completely exposed.

He was a typical pragmatist and had no interest in those superficial things.

They merely portray themselves as a responsible major power while secretly eyeing the better places next door.

If there's an opportunity, I'll grab it without hesitation.

According to Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire:

"The children have been suppressed for so many years, and it's hard for me, as their father, to bear it. We can't suppress them forever."

The children are growing up and becoming unruly; if you try to control them any longer, they'll become your enemies.

Since things have come to this point...
The Empire must truly play a supervisory and mediating role. From now on, all kingdoms should abide by their duties, maintain friendly relations, strengthen exchanges, and interconnectivity to jointly enhance their national economies and maintain regional stability. This is the right path.

There are some misunderstandings about the Empire among the world's countries, and the Imperial Propaganda and Culture Departments need to do a good job of explaining, which will be a long and arduous challenge.

The Empire is confident, capable, and has the means to reverse the world's unfair perceptions, reshape the Great Chu Empire's positive image as fair, moderate, and responsible, and become an important force for stabilizing world peace.

This is not only the sacred mission of the empire, but also a great responsibility that must be shouldered. It depends on the joint efforts and mutual growth of all vassal states to ensure its success…

In any case, the words sounded nice and won the hearts and minds of the vast majority of the empire's subjects, but in the ears of other countries, they evoked mixed feelings.

In short
You've already pocketed all the benefits of the relationship, and now you want to play the good guy again?

For this reason, Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire believed that the Imperial Propaganda Department and the Ministry of Culture had a long way to go and that actively participating in the current First World War was an important opportunity to change the perceptions of other countries.

Of course, not now.

Unless the Allied military bloc offers him something compelling, the date for the Great Chu Empire to enter the war will continue to be postponed.

It didn’t necessarily happen sometime in 1917; it could have been at the end of the year or in 1918.

The initiative has always been in the hands of the Great Chu Empire. Anyway, I'm not in a hurry. I'll make more money first.

By early 1915
The total amount of financial loans owed by the Allied powers, led by Britain and France, to the major banks and nine royal funds of the Great Chu Empire has reached 172.65 billion silver dollars, more than double that of a year ago.

The annual loan interest payments amount to over a billion silver dollars. These loans are all linked to gold, as stated in the loan terms, and there is no possibility of devaluation.

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire waited with great confidence. According to his prediction, after the end of this unprecedented First World War, the total loan amount might reach 330 to 350 billion silver dollars.

By then, even wealthy, established colonial powers like Britain and France will likely have no choice but to sell their houses and land.

Otherwise, the Great Chu Empire will not be so lenient.

What cannot be obtained through military means can certainly be obtained through financial means; it's just a matter of how much it costs.

Old colonial powers like Britain and France did not have any absolute psychological barriers to selling land.

Just like Britain during World War II, in order to obtain financial support from the United States, didn't it sell dozens of islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans to the Americans as a package?
Since that's the case, the Straits Settlements aren't out of the question; it's just a matter of price.

In fact, countries are the same as people. Can you imagine what kind of gamblers would do when they are desperately short of money?
Selling houses, land, wives, daughters, blood, or even stealing and robbing—this is a well-known truth and not difficult to understand.

When a country is in dire financial straits and faces bankruptcy, wouldn't it sell its overseas colonies?
This possibility always exists; it all depends on how pressure is applied and negotiations are conducted. Creditors always hold the initiative and occupy the moral high ground.

Repaying debts is justified.

Don't be fooled by how easy it is to borrow money now; the pain of paying it back is excruciating, whether for the country or for individuals.

The Allied military bloc thought that a piece of Syrian territory could satisfy Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire; that would be a gross underestimation.

The Great Chu Empire had in fact occupied the Jordanian region and established a new Jordanian Kingdom, retaining a port on the Mediterranean coast, namely Haifa.

Although it occupies a small coastline along the Mediterranean coast, it does have a port and a springboard for moving towards the Mediterranean.

Adding Syria to the mix wouldn't make much of a difference.

The difference between having 170 kilometers of coastline and having 1300 kilometers of coastline along the Mediterranean is the significantly increased safety margin; this springboard is more stable and solid.

But for a global superpower like the Great Chu Empire, as long as they stick in with just a finger, no one can pry it open.

Because behind this finger is a vast world-class empire with a total population of over 1.73 million, and more than thirty vassal states (in addition to the various princely kingdoms, it also includes the Kingdom of Quang Nam in northern Vietnam, the Kingdom of Ryukyu, the Kingdom of Colombia, and the kingdoms of West Malaya), possessing world-class naval and economic power.

If you want to lift a finger, you'd better consider whether you can withstand the ensuing wrath.

This illustrates how different national influence leads to different regional influence.

In the original world

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the Red Sea coast is an important node on the Eurasian shipping route. The two countries along its coast are Yemen and Eritrea in East Africa, both of which are relatively unknown.

During the Houthi rule in Yemen, missile blockades of the Red Sea straits nearly severed a vital shipping route between Eurasia. This made the world realize just how important the Strait of Saide truly was.

Today, the Great Chu Empire occupies both sides of the Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, which means it effectively controls the Red Sea and has a decisive voice on the Eurasian shipping route.

This is part of the Great Chu Empire's global influence.

Other areas of global influence include the Strait of Malacca, the Panama Canal, the Strait of Magellan at the southernmost tip of South America, control of Pacific shipping routes, control of the seven states of West Africa, and control of key regions such as Central America.

The presence of the Great Chu Empire's influence in the aforementioned regions ensured that European powers always remembered the necessity for the Great Chu Empire's participation in global issues, to gain its understanding and assistance, and to genuinely safeguard its interests.

Otherwise, the proposal will not pass.

This is the influence of the world's top powers. Almost all global and regional issues cannot be resolved by bypassing the Great Chu Empire alone, which is extremely unrealistic.

If you put a country with little influence or a weak major power in the picture, the European powers will simply ignore it. This is the difference between the strong and the weak.

Returning to the topic of the European territories that Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire longed for, the same principle applies.

Once a claw is inserted, it weighs over ten thousand pounds, and no one can lift it.

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