Nanyang Storm 1864

The war that raged across Europe ended in early 1918 with the complete surrender of the German-Austrian military alliance, ushering in a period of peace, recovery, and reconstruction for Europe, which had been ravaged by war.

The Great Chu Empire's expeditionary force also carried out a large-scale demobilization and resettlement. In just over six months, more than a million officers and soldiers were demobilized and systematically resettled in Europe and North Africa, including Tunisia.

Thus, they gained a foothold on the European stage.

The Great Chu Empire thus realized Emperor Zheng Guohui's long-cherished dream of having territory spanning five continents and seven oceans, leaving him with no regrets.

at the same time
Located in Eastern Europe, Tsarist Russia was engulfed in war, with a brutal civil war turning the country into a chaotic mess.

Since the establishment of the new Tsarist government in Russia in November 1917, the country has been plunged into even greater chaos.

Instead of the joy of success, the Xuan government was met with a barrage of enemies, rebellions, and civil war that broke out across the country.

This nascent nation faced the threat of extinction almost from its very inception.

With the outbreak of civil war, the current situation is extremely unfavorable to the new Tsarist government, with various rebellions occurring. The White Army and foreign interventionist forces are colluding with each other and spreading throughout the country.

The rebellions against the new Tsarist government and foreign interference were not only numerous and widespread, occupying most of Russia's territory, but also surrounded the core area of ​​Moscow controlled by the new Tsarist government from all directions.

Most of the former Russian military officers and the remaining organized and combat-capable troops defected to the opposition of the new regime, forming the powerful White Army.

The new government's army lacked officers with specialized education and training to command and organize, resulting in a disorganized, undisciplined, and ineffective army, unable to suppress the White Army, which was composed of professional soldiers such as officers, military academy cadets, and Cossacks.

In addition, the Allied powers, including Britain, France, Russia, Japan, the United States, and Italy, seized the opportunity to launch armed intervention in order to strangle the newly established Tsarist regime and actively supported Russian counter-revolutionary forces to launch armed rebellions, making the civil war even more chaotic.

However, none of this concerns the Great Chu Empire.

The Great Chu Empire only sent a brigade to play a minor role in the multinational intervention forces. Currently, it is stationed in three Baltic states, and it refuses to advance any further, citing insufficient military equipment and logistics.

The other main forces of the Great Chu Empire were all reorganized and underwent a long period of rest. The temporary designations of the more than twenty newly added army groups were all cancelled, leaving only the 1st to 17th Army Groups, totaling more than 140 million troops.

Over the next six months, more than 600,000 troops will be cut, which means at least seven more army groups will be eliminated.

The major demobilization mainly involved the first, second, and third batches of troops sent to Europe. Most of these recruited soldiers had already completed their three-year service period, and the principle of local resettlement was basically implemented.

The soldiers who retired earlier have now become farmers, police officers, low-level officials, or dock and factory workers, settling down in Europe.

Generally speaking

Most soldiers had tens to hundreds of acres of farmland, while some officers had thousands of acres, and they were mainly settled in towns and villages.

Those who wish to be settled in the city can receive housing and shops. Ordinary soldiers will receive one or two shops along the street, and those who are short will be compensated with farmland near the city. This is a stable and long-term income.

In addition, they will be placed in different positions, such as police officers, tax collectors, clerks in various government departments, railway workers, dock workers, or factory workers, and will receive a salary.

Under wartime control conditions

These military families, who were settled locally, received priority in food and supplies, and then married two or three local women, had children, and lived a very comfortable life.

The Great Chu Empire practiced polygamy, as did Europe.

Therefore, many soldiers who were settled locally had several wives. This not only solved the problem of a serious imbalance in the local male-female population, but also stabilized society and absorbed a large number of unemployed people.

Many young white women displaced by war found a home here.

From the perspective of resettlement destination
The Great Chu Empire's primary focus was on developing the Thrace region, the seven eastern coastal provinces of Bulgaria, as well as Moldova and Crimea—all territories it was determined to conquer.

The only point of contention is the seven coastal provinces of eastern Bulgaria.

This region borders Thrace, and as punishment for Bulgaria's participation in the Central Powers military alliance, the Great Chu Empire advocated separating its seven eastern provinces and connecting them with Thrace to form the "Greater Thrace" region.

This policy proposal has not yet gained unified recognition within the Allied military bloc. The Paris Peace Conference after the war is also being prepared in full swing. The Great Chu Empire has taken the lead and resettled demobilized soldiers in the coastal areas of the seven eastern provinces of Bulgaria.

Regardless, let's create a fait accompli first.

After such a division, Bulgaria will become a permanently landlocked country with no more ports accessible to the sea.

The Great Thrace region, possessed by the Great Chu Empire, stretched from the Aegean Sea all the way to the Black Sea, bordering Romania to the north.

Continuing north from Romania lies the Moldova region, which, along with Odessa Oblast and three other oblasts, occupies the entire southern coastal area of ​​Ukraine.

The Great Chu Empire prioritized the resettlement of retired soldiers in designated regions, namely Greater Thrace, Moldova and Crimea, and Tunisia.

The million soldiers who retired in the first two quarters of 1918 were mainly from the four regions mentioned above.

Starting from the third quarter

Of the remaining 60 or so retired military personnel planned for this year, half will be resettled in the aforementioned four regions.

The remaining half, approximately 30 troops, are planned to be resettled in four southern Ukrainian regions: Odessa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.

some of

The Odessa region is particularly targeted, with plans to resettle half of the retired soldiers, totaling more than 15, as it was not only a former Soviet heavy industry center but also a shipbuilding and shipping center.

More than 80% of the grain produced in the Ukrainian plains is transported out through the port of Odessa, which is also the largest port on the Black Sea coast.

After the Great Chu Empire took over the administration, it is now sending tens of thousands of Austro-Hungarian white prisoners to carry out large-scale reconstruction and expansion of this largest port on the Black Sea coast, as well as repair roads and city buildings.

Several ports in Odessa have been taken over by overseas funds under the Royal Internal Affairs Department of the Great Chu Empire. The funds for port renovation and expansion are also provided by these royal funds, and a large warehouse complex is to be built.

After renovation and expansion, the Port of Odessa will be able to handle 80,000-ton bulk carriers and will have dedicated grain, coal, bulk cargo and passenger terminals, increasing its capacity by more than three times compared to the original.

Another key resettlement area is Kherson Oblast, a heavy industrial center on the Black Sea coast that is already taking shape. It has two of the largest steel plants in Russia, ranking first and third respectively, and also has abundant iron ore and coal resources.

This is the basic condition that enabled the Helsinki region to become a heavy industrial center. The region has extremely rich mineral resources, including not only coal and iron, but also aluminum, zinc, lead, lithium and silver, as well as other abundant mineral resources that have not yet been discovered.

Therefore, the total number of officers and soldiers resettled in this state exceeds 8, ranking second.

The third-ranked state is Zaporizhzhia, which is extremely rich in mineral resources, but industrial development has not yet touched them. It has great potential for the future and is a typical resource-exporting state.

The region plans to resettle approximately 4.6 soldiers, ranking third. The remaining 2.3 will be resettled in the Nikolayev region, a typical agricultural region with a vast plain and black soil.

This was only the demobilization and resettlement plan for the third and fourth quarters of the year for the expeditionary force. Currently, more than one million Austro-Hungarian and German prisoners of war are still detained in various prisoner-of-war camps, undertaking a great deal of postwar reconstruction work.

The repatriation of prisoners of war continued, albeit at a very slow pace. Post-war Germany and Austria-Hungary were in complete disarray, with soaring prices, supply shortages, and widespread starvation; repatriation was hardly a desirable option.

Staying in the POW camp meant at least they could have enough to eat.

The Empire also allowed officers and soldiers in prisoner-of-war camps to read limited newspapers and learn about the outside world.

This to a large extent

This reduced the number of prisoners of war who were hostile and uncooperative. Many of these tomahawks were impoverished mountain dwellers and tenant farmers who knew the hardships of life and that they didn't always have enough to eat at home.

With the addition of over a million prisoners and over a million retired soldiers, the economy of the areas occupied by the Great Chu Empire recovered very quickly, especially the large-scale restoration and reclamation of agriculture, which has yielded fruitful results.

By the end of June, when the wheat was ripe, the vast plains were laden with golden ears of wheat, a scene of abundant harvest. Countless people were engaged in the harvest, and the painful memories of war seemed to have faded into the past.

According to the estimates of the Imperial Occupation Forces
During the July harvest season, a total of approximately 6.5 to 7 million tons of grain can be produced.

A total of 400.4 million tons of winter wheat were harvested, covering an area of ​​12.83 hectares, with a yield of 30.3 quintals per hectare.
Others include

The barley production was approximately 34.1 tons, with a planting area of ​​1.09 hectares and a yield of 31.3 quintals per hectare.

Approximately 14 tons of peas were planted, covering an area of ​​1.3 hectares, with a yield of 11.2 quintals per hectare.

In addition, 6 tons of winter rapeseed will be harvested, along with other crops such as radishes and potatoes, ushering in a truly bumper harvest year.

With food supplies, local security and governance would be completely secured.

in this era

Having suffered the double ravages of famine and war, the vast plains of Europe were ravaged by hunger, and it was hard to believe that large numbers of people were starving to death in the grain-producing region of Ukraine.

That's the truth.
As early as the Tsarist era, in order to develop industry, a large number of advanced machinery and equipment and guns were imported. In order to satisfy the extravagant and decadent demands of the upper class of Tsarist Russia, a large amount of foreign exchange was obtained through the export of grain.

One is food, the other is oil.

Besides these, Tsarist Russia had no other notable industrial products or resources.

Always

Under extreme oppression, the lower classes in vast areas of Ukraine live in constant hunger and cold, and it is common for people to starve to death during the spring famine.

The arrival of the Great Chu Empire completely changed this situation.

Not only were the prisoners of war in the POW camps well-fed, but the Ukrainian farmers who rented land were also well-fed. It was a win-win situation.

These four southern Ukrainian regions have a long history of development, are mainly characterized by large plains, have high-yield black soil, dense villages and towns, and a large population.

Before the war

The combined population of the four provinces was around ten million, but after the devastation of war and the conscription of the Russian army, coupled with the ravages of war and the exodus this year, only about seven million remain.

Of this population, women make up the majority, numbering at least 4.6 to 700,000, primarily of Ukrainian descent, with some Polish and Tatar populations also present.

Ukraine's black soil has high grain yields, earning it the nickname "breadbasket of Europe."

The merit-based land allocated to retired officers and soldiers of the Expeditionary Force was generally subject to a special preferential standard of "one-tenth tax".

These Chinese farmers rent out their land, collect 60% of the rent, and still leave 30% for the Ukrainian white tenants, which is quite a lot.

Of a 1-pound harvest, 3000 pounds can be kept; this is only the harvest of winter wheat in one season.

There's enough food for a family of five or six; they don't have to worry about going hungry.

There are also Chinese retired soldiers who have dozens of acres of land for meritorious service. After the war, their families can cultivate the land. Those officers and soldiers who own hundreds or even thousands of acres will definitely not be able to cultivate it all by themselves.

Hiring local white farmers became a viable option.

After the war
Indeed, some local landowners and nobles returned to the four southern regions of Ukraine, hoping to continue their privileged upper-class lifestyle based on their old land deeds.

These large landowners and nobles were soon taken away by the occupying forces and then disappeared completely.

The imperial occupying forces adopted a policy of resolute suppression against these former nobles and large landowners from the Tsarist era, swiftly eliminating them before they posed a threat.

Just look at the civil war in Tsarist Russia today, and you'll know how harmful these large landowners and old nobles are.

They were able to gather a large number of landless peasants and able-bodied men with their wealth and food. The main force and backbone of the rebellion during the internal strife were also these people, none of them were good people.

By completely eliminating this class, the remaining Ukrainian peasants, who are not very knowledgeable, will not pose a threat and will not be able to organize themselves.

Starting from the end of June

More than 300,000 retired officers and soldiers have been resettled in four southern regions of Ukraine. From cities to villages, the presence of these retired Chinese officers and soldiers can be seen everywhere.

In the plans of Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire
The four southern regions of Ukraine, serving as a buffer zone between Crimea and Moldova, will establish a multi-ethnic republic to mitigate the ideological impact of the new Tsarist government.

This region has 700 million Ukrainians, and the number of retired Chinese military personnel will reach hundreds of thousands. In the future, a certain number of Chinese immigrants will also fill the area.

In addition, some Austro-Hungarian and German prisoners of war, who had no relatives or land and no intention of returning to their home countries, were also settled in the aforementioned four states.

at the same time
We also welcome immigrants from Britain, France, Italy, or Spain to settle here, forming a multi-ethnic republic, which is more in line with the current situation.

As for establishing a new kingdom in Europe, such a motion was indeed proposed, but it was rejected without hesitation by Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire.

That would be tantamount to playing with fire, and it would attract the attention of all of Europe, putting the Great Chu Empire on the opposite side of interests with Russia, Britain, France, the United States, and other countries, placing it in an extremely unfavorable position.

Imagine, in a group of Christian countries in Europe, creating one or more pagan kingdoms, wouldn't that be like a candle in the darkness?
With the Ottoman Empire, the only pagan state in Europe, now confirmed to be dismantled, this new pagan state will undoubtedly become the next real target for European countries.

That would be incredibly unwise.

The four regions of Ukraine will not only serve as a strategic buffer zone with the new Tsarist government, but also as a target for conflict, or even a powder keg.

By taking the lead behind the scenes, the Great Chu Empire could firmly control the discourse on key issues in Eastern Europe and thus participate in the overall power struggle in Europe.

This is a starting point, a lever, and a powerful weapon in the hands of the Great Chu Empire, allowing it to advance or retreat as needed. (End of Chapter)