The Australian Revolution of 1828

The plan for the Mining Bureau to bring in laborers has been approved, but how to implement it has become the key and an important task for Hanyang Prefecture at this stage.

After a short rest, Han Qingyun summoned the four directors of the Immigration Agency, Trade Agency, Industry Agency, and Armaments Agency to his study to discuss the implementation of the labor program.

Of course, the Grand General's Office, which was in charge of both the army and navy, also got involved, with Meng Xiong of the Industrial Bureau and Li Guochen of the Trade Bureau serving as the Left and Right Grand Generals respectively.

Inside the study, Han Qingyun instructed his servant to pull back the curtain obscuring the map, pointed to a large area of ​​land in western Mingzhou (Australia), and said, "Currently, there are no longer enough indigenous people available for mining and other activities along the coast of Hanyang Prefecture and within a 500-kilometer radius inland. We urgently need to find new sources of miners."

"Bingzhong and Guochen, you two are in charge of immigration and trade. You often travel in Southeast Asia and are familiar with sea routes. You should know where it is more suitable to bring in laborers. Share your thoughts."

The immigration route was gradually established five years ago, and even now, we dare not say that it is fully completed.

Five years later, while it can't be said to be unbreakable, it has achieved some success.

As the two officials who had the most contact with Southeast Asia, they were very familiar with the stations on the shipping routes.

They exchanged glances, and Luo Bingzhong from the Immigration Agency spoke first, saying, "Chief Inspector, esteemed directors, the air route we are currently using was established by the Chief Inspector and has been in preparation for five years."

"In five years, the number of stations on the route has gone from zero to one."

"Through unremitting efforts over the past few years, the Immigration Agency and the Trade Agency have successively arranged trustworthy personnel to go to various stations and preside over the operation of the air routes and stations, which has already achieved a certain scale."

Then, Luo Bingzhong from the Trade Bureau stood up in front of the map, holding a baton in one hand and pointing to the flight path, and said, "Please look at the map, everyone. I will now introduce the situation of each station to you."

Everyone in the study turned their gaze to the baton, following its movement.

Luo Bingzhong didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point, saying, "The immigrant ships all passed through the Dongfan Strait to Da Nang in Annam to replenish their food supplies. Then the ships docked at Natuna Island, and then went to Pontianak in Lanfang to replenish their water and food supplies. After that, they went to Dampasa in Bali, then to Laiyang County (Pidamara) in the northwest corner of Minhzhou (Australia), and finally to Hanyang Prefecture."

"Apart from the local ports of Hanyang and Laiyang (Pidamara), the other ports are all supply stations established through local commercial cooperation, which have limited autonomy and higher costs."

"Currently, the operation of each station is relatively good. The only drawback is that they do not have independent management rights. When they need to dock for supplies, they have to wait in long queues, which is very time-consuming."

"If the Governor's Office intends to bring in pirate laborers, I suggest we take this opportunity to seize the five islands of Natuna, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, and Sumbawa."

"These five islands are not only key nodes on the shipping route, but also an important source of labor."

Natuna Island, with an area of ​​approximately 2000 square kilometers, has a population of about 8000, all of whom are of Chinese descent. Currently, the island is nominally ruled by the Dutch colonial government, but it does not have direct jurisdiction over it.

Bali, with an area of ​​5620 square kilometers and a population of about 23, is home to the relatively independent Kingdom of Bali, and currently has no colonial power.

Lombok Island, with an area of ​​5435 square kilometers and a population of about 160,000, is controlled by the Balinese, who have established four kingdoms on the island, which are currently in a state of chaos.

Moreover, the limestone ore in the southern part of Lombok is an important raw material for cement and a flux for iron and steel making.

As for the nearby Sumbawa Island, it has an area of ​​approximately 15448 square kilometers.

The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 spewed out 1400 billion tons of lava, releasing energy equivalent to 5 times the power of the "Little Boy" explosion.

It was this volcanic eruption that directly caused the deaths of more than 50000 people on Sumbawa Island, and forced more than 35000 people to relocate from the island, leaving only a mere 3000 people remaining.

The other island, Sumba Island, covers an area of ​​14000 square kilometers, with most areas at an altitude of 600-1000 meters, and most of its rivers are not navigable.

The coast has a narrow coastal plain with abundant rainfall.

Because of its poverty and desolation, it did not receive much attention from the Dutch. And for this reason, Sumba Island escaped the invasion of Western colonists.

The Netherlands later colonized it, but only indirectly, as the local leaders still retained most of their power.

Immigration Agency official Luo Bingzhong selected these five islands with great care.

Meng Xiong of the Industrial Bureau, having spent a long time in Hanyang, lacked sensitivity to the situation in Southeast Asia and was worried about foreign interference in the operation. He said, "Director Luo, I'm afraid this is inappropriate!"

"Bali and Lombok are both near Batavia. If we make a move against those two islands now, Batavia will definitely get upset!"

"As for Natuna Island, that's within the Dutch sphere of influence. If war breaks out there, things could get very complicated!"

"At present, Hanyang only seeks stable development and does not seek to break through the Dutch sphere of influence."

Meng Xiong from the Industry Department had valid concerns, given that these islands were all within their borders. It would be strange if the Netherlands refrained from interfering!

Han Qingyun knew Luo Bingzhong of the Immigration Agency well enough to know that he would not make baseless accusations and ruin his future.

As Han Qingyun had suspected, Luo Bingzhong did not take on the question. Instead, he passed the question on to Li Guochen of the Trade Bureau, saying, "Director Meng, I think it's more appropriate for the Right Vice-General to answer this question!"

Li Guochen, the Right Vice-General of the Grand General's Office, also known as the Director of the Trade Bureau!

Li Guochen of the Trade Bureau was very knowledgeable about the situation in Southeast Asia. He took over Meng Xiong's concerns from the Industrial Bureau and said, "Chief Inspector and Left Governor, the Java Island matter is my fault. I failed to report the situation in Southeast Asia in a timely manner, which resulted in a lack of basis for judgment."

"However, I obtained this information by chance, so it may not be accurate!"

Before even discussing the matter, he's already trying to shift the blame; he's quite adept at being an official.

Fortunately, Han Qingyun was used to it and remained calm, saying, "Tell me, what major event has happened in Southeast Asia that makes you two officials seem so excited?"

As if encouraged, Li Guochen of the Trade Bureau brought out all the information he knew, saying, "Chief Censor, Left Governor, as you both know, there has been unrest on Java Island in recent years, and it is said that many Dutch soldiers died during the suppression of the rebellion."

The rebellion on Java Island was no secret. Han Qingyun knew about it, as did Meng Xiong of the Industrial Bureau, and even the major and minor powers in Southeast Asia.

But what good is knowing that? Who would dare challenge the Netherlands, the weakest of the great powers?

Furthermore, Java has never been peaceful in recent years. It's either the British fighting or the Javanese indigenous people fighting. This has happened many times over, so it's nothing new.

Meng Xiong, now the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Military Commission, wielding power over both the army and navy, is extremely cautious about war. He said, "Right Commander-in-Chief Li, you can't just make things up. Do you have any concrete intelligence?"

"Hanyang is too weak; we can't afford to fight a losing battle!"

Clearly, Lee Kuo-chen of the Trade Commission has been cornered. He must either provide accurate information and bear the corresponding responsibility and honor, or he must come up with another plan!

After much hesitation, Li Guochen of the Trade Bureau could not resist the temptation of military achievements and, despite the pressure of defeat, said: "Chief Justice, Left Commander-in-Chief, I am willing to guarantee with my own head that the Dutch suffered at least 12000 casualties during the suppression of the rebellion on Java Island."

"If we seize this opportunity and take over these five islands in one fell swoop, we can not only solve the labor shortage problem, but also build ports on these five islands and make them a protective hub for immigration routes."

According to Javanese historical records, a large-scale uprising against Dutch colonial rule broke out on Java in 1825.

This uprising was led by Tibonigoro, the eldest son of the Sultan of Yogyakarta, with an army of over 10, hence it is also known as the Tibonigoro Rebellion or the Java War.

The Dutch had approximately 21000 soldiers participating in the battle, while their vassal state, the Sultanate of Solo, contributed over 29000 troops.

By the end of 1830, the Dutch had lost over 15000 soldiers, the Javanese army led by Tibonicolò had lost over 20000, and approximately 2000 Javanese civilians had died, resulting in an economic loss of 20 million guilders for the Dutch colonial government.

One Dutch guilder was approximately equal to 0.567 grams of gold, and 20 million Dutch guilders were approximately equal to 1135 million grams of gold, totaling 226,800 taels of gold, or 272 million taels of silver, or about 545 million silver dollars.