The Australian Revolution of 1828

He gave a brief report on the domestic economic situation, fully demonstrating the important role of immigrants and laborers in the economic development of Xia Kingdom.

Firstly, laborers can not only increase gold production, but also engage in other industrial and mining industries.

This can ensure sufficient funds for the Xia Kingdom and maintain the normal mining of other industrial raw materials, such as coal, iron ore, lead ore, copper ore, quarries, transportation infrastructure projects, etc.

Secondly, immigrant women of marriageable age can form families with Chinese men, which can motivate immigrants to work and also recoup some money through matchmaking fees.

Third, male immigrants provided greater productivity, enabling them to create more valuable things such as cities, houses, roads, guns, cannons, and ships.

Fourth, the continuous increase in the immigrant population can boost consumption power, as evidenced by the growth in food, clothing, and housing prices.

Fifth, tax revenue will be the next important source of income, which is closely related to population.

For so many years, the Xia Kingdom has not collected commercial taxes, customs duties, agricultural taxes, or other taxes. Its main income comes from calculating the profits of various factories and mines, as well as trade profits and loan interest.

Now that we have successfully transformed into a legitimate country, it is necessary to work on taxation.

After summarizing the first three quarters, Han Qingyun officially moved on to the meeting's agenda, saying, "Looking at the economic data for the first three quarters, immigration remains the second largest source of income."

"At present, Hanyang's industrial products are not competitive at all, and the output is insufficient, only able to meet a small portion of domestic demand. Only the animal husbandry and mining industries are developing well, injecting significant funds into Hanyang."

"In the long run, the livestock industry needs a larger market and to seek more cooperation. We can try exporting to regions such as Batavia and Lanfang."

The Southeast Asian region is rainy and mainly inhabited by water buffalo. The draft cattle from Hanyang are not suitable for these areas, so the only export products are horses and sheep.

As for other agricultural and livestock products, mainly wool and leather, the export volume is not large, and their role in economic development is very limited.

Moreover, the Xia Kingdom's economy was in deficit, with a deficit of nearly 171 million silver dollars.

171 million silver dollars, worth about 7.2 taels of gold, means that an annual production of 7.2 taels of gold can make up for this trade deficit.

This isn't a major problem for the Xia Kingdom. Based on current gold production, the annual gold output can reach 132 million taels.

This gold production was no small amount, worth up to 3200 million silver dollars, making the trade deficit of 132 million silver dollars seem insignificant.

However, Xia Kingdom is currently in the early stages of development, so a trade deficit is normal. As long as sufficient gold production is guaranteed, it can meet the continued development needs of various industries.

With just a few simple words, Han Qingyun set the direction for the economic conference, and all the ministers and magistrates present understood the situation.

Grand Secretary Luo Bingzhong, as the principal implementer, delivered a speech, saying, "As Your Majesty said, immigration is the main driving force for economic development."

"Only when immigration grows rapidly will our economy get back on the fast track."

"However, all of this is predicated on maintaining stability within the country and avoiding major conflicts."

Luo Bingzhong's principles are twofold: immigration and stability.

Without a stable environment, the immigration process in Xia Kingdom will proceed very slowly, just like the Xunyang Island war in May and the incorporation of Zhaoyang Island into its territory in June.

Both of these armed conflicts wasted considerable time and delayed the immigration process.

Fortunately, these two counties were important nodes for immigration and played a huge role in promoting immigration. In fact, the war accelerated the immigration process.

The original migration time from the Qing government to Hanyang was about 39 days, but after a series of wars, this time has been shortened to 26 days, a reduction of 13 days.

This is an advantage.

Luo Bingzhong also saw a downside: the influence of countries like Britain and the Netherlands was growing, especially in Southeast Asia, and the navy had to be strong.

However, due to this situation, the Xia Kingdom lacked manpower, which slowed down the development of its navy.

In order to reduce unnecessary conflicts, after emergency discussions, Han Qingyun decided on a steady and pragmatic strategy, which was to strengthen cooperation with Britain and the Netherlands and reduce confrontation.

As business flourished and countries like Britain and the Netherlands made money, conflicts naturally decreased.

Therefore, the positioning of Xunyang County and Zhaoyang County has also changed.

In addition to strengthening its defenses, Xunyang County will temporarily refrain from developing its naval forces for external expansion. In particular, the 10 armed merchant ships that have already been reorganized will be reduced to 5, with the other 5 continuing to be used for immigration and trade.

Zhaoyang County is similar; it's too small for the British and Dutch to even consider. If it were developed into a military fortress, it would threaten British and Dutch merchant ships.

Therefore, in order not to provoke the Southeast Asian region, Zhaoyang County should temporarily sheathe its sharp claws and hide, waiting for the Xia Kingdom's strength to reach a higher level before taking action.

Both of them could understand this arrangement.

However, Zhaoyang County is a special case, as it is entirely rainforest, making food supply a major problem. He said, "Prime Minister, I have no objection to this decision, but Zhaoyang County also has its own unique circumstances."

"All merchant ships bound for the Qing court had to pass through the waters off Zhaoyang County."

"Even if we wanted to supply merchant ships, it wouldn't be possible!"

Grand Secretary Luo Bingzhong had already prepared a plan, saying, "You don't need to worry about that. The Ministry of Civil Affairs will arrange for a group of laborers to go to Zhaoyang County to complete the port construction and land reclamation tasks."

"The Ministry of Civil Affairs will assign the responsibility for the food issue to Xunyang County, and any shortage will be imported from Batavia."

The construction of Zhaoyang is a long-term process that requires a massive amount of funding.

However, for the Xia Kingdom at this stage, there is no other choice.

If they had Borneo, they wouldn't need to worry about Zhaoyang County; they could simply focus on developing Pontianak in Borneo. However, before they could completely conquer Borneo, Zhaoyang County became a crucial asset for the Xia Kingdom.

This approach, extending deep into the Southeast Asian region, is the only force we can rely on, and we absolutely must build it up, even if it costs more money.

Without this leverage, it will be extremely difficult to influence the Chinese community in the Nanyang area.

With this opportunity, Chinese people in Southeast Asia could learn about the Xia Kingdom up close through Zhaoyang County and then choose to become Xia citizens.

This has a positive effect on the development of the Xia Kingdom.

For example, there were some Chinese scientists who understood Western technology, and some Chinese shipbuilders who understood Western shipbuilding techniques, etc.

The two counties have shifted their focus from confrontation to engaging with foreigners and striving for win-win cooperation as soon as possible.

Firstly, we can import the necessary crops such as rice from Batavia.

Secondly, female laborers could be brought in through the Indian colonial government.

If these two conditions are met, Britain and the Netherlands will inevitably relax their stance and acknowledge Xia's existing sphere of influence.

As for the Sydney Governor's House, it is a place for exiling criminals and can be said to be insignificant at present.

Throughout the conference, the focus on the economy positively demonstrated the importance of immigration and labor, while trade, due to economic data, was relegated to a secondary position, somewhat like the left foot stepping on the right foot to reach the sky.