There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 418 Smokeless Gunpowder
Taiwan.

"Your Excellency, this is the camphor forest in Taipei. All camphor sold in mainland China comes from this camphor forest."

Changhua County Magistrate Hsu Yung pointed to a large primeval forest in front of him and said to Changhua County Magistrate Tu Jui.

Du Rui said, "I understand. His Majesty has decreed that all the camphor trees in Taipei be nationalized by the imperial court. You are responsible for drafting a notice to local merchants that these camphor trees will no longer be sold to private merchants. At the same time, the imperial court will also send troops to take over the defense of this area."

"As ordered."

Xu Yong naturally complied, and then asked, "Does the magistrate have any other instructions?"

Du Rui shook his head: "That's all for now. First, seal off this place as soon as possible. Make those local merchants who are still logging camphor trees stop logging immediately. Take back the trees that have already been logged. The court will compensate them for the logging fees so that they won't suffer too much loss."

Xu Yong responded again, without asking why the new dynasty had banned the logging of camphor trees.

The camphor forest in Taipei has always been state-owned property, with special officials appointed to oversee it during the Qing Dynasty. Although it was sold to private merchants, the primary purpose was to generate revenue for the government and increase the tax revenue of the Taiwan Prefecture.

After camphor trees are harvested, they can be used to extract a special drug called camphor.

The most common impression of camphor in later generations is probably camphor balls, a type of toilet cleaner specifically placed in toilets.

However, camphor has many uses beyond just cleaning toilets. It can also be used to relieve cold and pain, treat scabies, repel insects and fight bacteria, and even be used as a special fragrance to prevent insects and diseases. It can be said to be a very versatile medicine.

The main production area of ​​camphor is in the mountains and forests of northern Taiwan Prefecture, where almost 99% of the land is covered with camphor forests. The camphor industry in Taipei is also the most efficient and developed economic industry in Taiwan Prefecture.

Even during the colonial era of the great powers, Taipei's annual camphor production accounted for 70% of the world's total production.

If two-thirds of the world's silver is in the Americas, then two-thirds of camphor is in China.

Of course, Nie Yu's decision to reclaim the camphor industry from the imperial court and simultaneously block its sale to private merchants was not an attempt to compete with the people for profit.

Nowadays, people only know how to use camphor as medicine and fragrance, but camphor actually has another special and very dangerous use: making gunpowder.

Smokeless gunpowder!

In the current world version, no matter how gunpowder is reformed, even the Han Dynasty used sugar gunpowder, but the essence of gunpowder is still traditional black powder.

This traditional black powder not only uses outdated technology, but its power is also limited. Even with the addition of sugar in a special ratio to increase the burning rate and power of the gunpowder, black powder still has a burning limit.

Previously, due to a lack of resources, Nie Yu could only make do with what he had. Now that he has the resources, and can obtain the most scarce resource, camphor, it's time to move towards smokeless gunpowder.

The Taiwan government has begun taking over the Taipei camphor forest, preparing it for use in Dahan's smokeless gunpowder production.

Without the revenue from the camphor trade, the Taiwan government's tax revenue would definitely be cut by a large margin, but this wouldn't be a big problem for Nie Yu.

The reason why the puppet Qing dynasty valued camphor revenue was because it first imposed a maritime ban and then closed the country to the outside world, leaving Taiwan truly isolated overseas and only able to make a living by farming and cutting down camphor trees on the island.

If that were all, it would be one thing, but the key issue is that Taiwan is isolated overseas and has difficulty establishing contact with the mainland. Without oversight, Taiwanese officials exploit and oppress the Taiwanese people in various ways.

When officials force the people to revolt, the imperial court sends troops to suppress them. After the suppression, the oppression continues, and then the people revolt again, and the cycle repeats itself...

However, as soon as the Han officials arrived, they distributed land to the people of Taiwan, freeing them from being serfs. They also reduced or exempted them from taxes, waiving past loans and tax arrears, which effectively eliminated the people's hatred towards the Han Dynasty government.

At the same time, although the government cut off the camphor revenue of Taiwan Prefecture, it did not have much impact on the people, since the government still required the people to work as loggers to cut down camphor forests.

Finally, the Qing dynasty favored isolationism, leaving Taiwan, despite being a large coastal island adjacent to ports like Xiamen and Ningbo, with absolutely no means of maritime trade revenue and forced to survive by farming for officials.

The new Han Dynasty did not close its doors to the outside world; instead, it opened its borders to the outside world. Currently, only the ports of Guangzhou and Macau are open, and other good ports along the coast will be opened in succession.

Taiwan Prefecture enjoys unparalleled geographical advantages, possessing immense strategic value in terms of maritime power and proximity to coastal cities. Furthermore, its location at the heart of East Asian maritime trade enabled it to establish maritime trade links with Ryukyu, Japan, and Luzon.

If this still can't be developed, then the Taiwan government has truly wasted such a good place.

……

After the restoration of Taiwan Prefecture, some Han Chinese officials submitted a memorial suggesting that Taiwan Prefecture should be established as a province under its jurisdiction. However, after careful consideration, Nie Yu rejected the suggestion, and Taiwan continued to be under the jurisdiction of Fujian.

In fact, this idea was not only proposed by Han Dynasty officials. As early as the second year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, some officials wanted to establish Taiwan Prefecture as a separate province, but Emperor Qianlong rejected it on the grounds of chaotic division of power and unclear management.

However, Emperor Qianlong did heed some of his advice and further strengthened the control over Taiwan, specifically sending a magistrate from Fujian to Penghu to establish the Penghu Prefecture to oversee Taiwan.

The current Taiwan Prefecture consists of one prefecture, four counties, and three sub-prefectures: Taiwan Prefecture, Taiwan County (with its capital), Fengshan County, Chiayi County, Changhua County, Penghu Sub-prefecture, Tamsui Sub-prefecture, and Yilan Sub-prefecture.

There were also naturalized indigenous communities formed by various ethnic groups in Taiwan, such as Madou, Mujialiuwan, Xingang, and Zhijialong.

In Yilan Prefecture in eastern Taiwan, which was newly established by the Han Chinese, the local Kavalan people had gradually assimilated into the indigenous population about five years ago, influenced by Han Chinese from Zhangzhou, such as Wu Sha, who had voluntarily migrated and cultivated the land. Those who were unwilling to assimilate had already been settled by the Han Chinese settlers. Just as Changhua Magistrate Du Rui had finalized the inclusion of Taipei Zhanglin under government control, two warships and a fishing boat landed on a small island in the northern waters of Taiwan Prefecture.

This island has a unique shape; it's not a normal island, but rather an island that is long and narrow, resembling a fish whisker.

"Sir, this is Haoyuxu (the island that cannot be mentioned)."

"Ah."

Xu Hai, the Han army commander who followed them onto the island, nodded slightly. Looking at the almost desolate island in front of him, he couldn't help but say, "What a fish whisker! It really does look like a fish whisker, curving out like one!"

He paused for a moment, then waved behind him: "Someone, cast a monument."

Several Han soldiers pulled out a stone, preparing to find a place to cast a monument, as this was a special order given to them by the emperor.

Moreover, the island of Hayushu itself is an important island between Taiwan and Ryukyu. Chinese envoys to Ryukyu had to pass through DYD to reach their destinations.

By the end of this year at the latest, the Han Dynasty will definitely send ships to Ryukyu, with the Honglu Temple in charge of the mission. The mission is nominally to re-establish the Ryukyu king and declare that China, the suzerain state of Ryukyu, has a new emperor, but in reality, it is also to go and gather information.

Ryukyu is still officially an independent kingdom, paying tribute to China every two years, but since the late Ming Dynasty, Ryukyu has been secretly controlled by the Satsuma Domain of Japan.

If it weren't for the Edo Shogunate of Japan, which, together with the Qing Dynasty, implemented a policy of national isolation and strictly prohibited domestic daimyo from expanding overseas, the Satsuma Domain's strategy would have been to annex Ryukyu and turn it into a complete vassal state of the Satsuma Domain.

……

Jeju Island.

This place has now been renamed Tamna County. The new magistrate of Tamna County arrived by boat a long time ago. The magistrate's name is Lin Huai'an, and he is a graduate of the imperial examination.

Although he was a third-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), he was still a Jinshi who passed the special imperial examination. When a Jinshi who passed the special imperial examination became the magistrate of an island county, all the people under his jurisdiction were Koreans.

This sounds like exile, but Lin Huai'an doesn't think so. Jeju Island may seem like an isolated island county, and the people on the island are all of Korean ethnicity, but the thousands of warhorses on the island are real, and the 2,000-strong cavalry division is real too.

The emperor used Jeju Island to raise cavalry, clearly not just to use it as a cheap horse breeding ground, since it's very close to the shore.

He only had to endure three years of hardship overseas, serving as a county magistrate on an island. When he returned to China to report on his work, he would surely be promoted quickly for his merits. In fact, the better he did in Tamna County, the better the emperor's impression of him would be.

"Your Excellency, several ships have arrived at Tamna Port, bringing with them many warhorses." Tamna County Assistant Magistrate Ding Ruoyong hurriedly arrived at the county office and reported to Lin Huai'an.

Lin Huai'an immediately stood up: "Quickly come with me to greet them."

Lin Huai'an led a group of county officials to the port, where they saw Wu Liehu had already arrived with his troops and was calming down a tall horse that had just disembarked.

Lin Huai'an stepped forward and greeted him: "General Wu."

Wu Liehu laughed and said, "Haha, Magistrate Lin is here. His Majesty really didn't lie to us. This horse is indeed a fine horse, the best we've ever seen before."

Lin Huai'an had seen the horse from afar when he arrived; it was quite large. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was truly tall, taller than any horse he had seen since arriving in Jeju Island. Moreover, its proportions were perfect, with remarkably strong muscles that exuded power.

Even he, an amateur, thought the horse was quite good; it was definitely a fine steed.

Why are the horse's ears bent inwards?

It doesn't look like a local horse!

Wu Liehu laughed and said, "This horse doesn't seem to be from our region. I heard it was brought back from some England or India. It's an Indian horse."

"They're actually from India." Lin Huai'an nodded knowingly.

Journey to the West is a classic novel, so he must have read it and was therefore familiar with India.

But aren't all Indians monks? How come they have such fine warhorses?
After calming the warhorses down a bit, Wu Liehu ordered his soldiers to send them all back to the island's horse farm: "Sigh, these horses are good, but there are too few of them, only 80. That's not enough to form several cavalry squads. Magistrate Lin, bring these horses out first. We don't need to use them for training. Just feed and care for them and let them breed with the warhorses on the island to see if they can produce equally magnificent horses."

"I will definitely get it done," Lin Huai'an replied, cupping his hands in greeting.

Horse breeding is also part of his duties. Jeju Island's main job at present is still to raise horses for the emperor and the cavalry division.

Wu Liehu smiled again: "No need to be so serious. We're just testing the waters with breeding. His Majesty has already said that there aren't that many Indian horses this year, but he'll definitely be able to get a few hundred next year. Then we won't be short of horses."

……

(End of this chapter)