Wild North America 1846

At the end of January 1902, near the time of the Lunar New Year.

It has been a few days since the emperor of the Tang Dynasty arrived in Batavia. He has been operating under strict military protection and has not gone deep into the countryside as frequently as usual.

Java is a densely populated island with a long history of development. The island’s population accounts for [-]% of the entire East Indies, [-]% of Sumatra, and half of Kalimantan. The scattered population of some other islands is negligible.

After the Tang Empire army occupied Java Island, it did not adopt the colonial policy of suppressing the local aborigines on other islands, so as not to arouse widespread resistance.

The main targets of the attack are white colonists who occupy a large amount of land and fields, indigenous tribal leaders, religious figures, and the middle and upper class of pro-Dutch indigenous people.Severe measures were taken to arrest a group, kill a group, and throw most of the others into hard labor camps.

Such resolute measures basically disintegrated the original colonial rule structure of Java Island.

just two years
A total of 21.2 occupying troops retired 5.33 people. These officers and soldiers quickly occupied the upper floors of various towns on Java Island, and transformed themselves into farmers and planters, large and small, and became the biggest help in controlling the situation on the island.

It is estimated that in the next three years, no less than 7 occupying forces will be discharged from the army, filling every corner of urban and rural areas, and forming a more stable colonial rule.

on the basis of

The occupying forces, with companies, battalions, and regiments as units, dispersed to towns, small cities, and various transportation node cities, and cooperated with the local government and Chinese farmers to suppress the rebellious indigenous forces.

Especially in some indigenous villages and towns where armed resistance was rampant, the entire village or even the town was completely wiped out, and all males over the age of 12 were thrown into hard labor camps, and a large number of Chinese immigrants were accepted to fill the population.

After two years of review, the regional situation in the entire Java Island has been completely reversed.

With the cooperation of the early Chinese immigrants, the occupying forces of the Tang Empire completely controlled the situation from villages to towns and even the entire island. The next step is to grind their efforts.

Therefore

On Java Island, the arrival of the emperor's royal family aroused enthusiastic welcome from the Chinese people. However, the indigenous people who accounted for the majority of the population were full of dissatisfaction and hostility. For safety reasons, it was not suitable to hold grand celebrations.

For the city of Batavia, Emperor Richard didn't feel anything outstanding?
At best, it's just a large Dutch city.

Batavia's 4.2-square-mile old town is full of Dutch-style buildings, castles and churches, with strong Western European urban characteristics.

But that's all, the city roads are narrow and winding, and the stone road at the gate of the Governor's Mansion is only 3.7 meters wide, revealing a small and stingy pattern everywhere.

in the new plan
Batavia is compared with the standards of the first-tier metropolises of the Tang Empire in the new Xi'an and Donggang. The main lines of the new urban areas are all 35 meters long, and the central green separation belt is 6 meters wide, which is a proper urban garden green space.

The motorways, carriages and sidewalks on both sides are all separated. Tall coconut trees are planted as street trees. The underlying shrubs are matched with various tropical flowers and plants, and flowers bloom all year round.

Even the next-level urban roads have a planned width of 26 meters and a central green belt of 2.8 meters, which is enough to adapt to the development level in the next 100 years.

The forward-looking urban planning of the Tang Empire is far behind that of other countries in the world.

This is because the Tang Empire has suffered enough from the traffic congestion in the metropolis. The western capital of Chang'an (San Francisco), Los Angeles, Chicago, Mexico City, New Xi'an, Salem, and Detroit are all metropolises with a population of one million. The pain of traffic jams.

What rapid transit ring, subway, high-capacity multi-section trams, traffic police and signal flags are almost standard equipment in imperial metropolises today, and new large-scale traffic projects are all being launched.

The traffic policeman standing at the busy intersection directing the traffic, holding signal flags to guide the vehicles, is a unique landscape of the imperial metropolis, and it is also a product of adapting to the times.

The rapid popularization of Datang Empire cars has put forward higher requirements for road standards.

The mixed traffic of automobiles, ox carts, horse-drawn carriages, trams and tricycles has turned roads into scarce resources that various modes of transportation compete for, greatly affecting traffic efficiency.

At busy intersections without traffic police command, daily congestion becomes a common occurrence.

This made the imperial city planning department set very high traffic standards for first-tier metropolises, often with 6 or 8 lanes, and separated traffic for motor vehicles and pedestrians, which is unimaginable in other countries.

Emperor Li Cha was used to the prosperous metropolises built with high standards, but when he looked back at Batavia, he really looked down on him 100 times.

Maybe in another 30 to [-] years, it will be able to develop to a decent level, but it is far from enough now.

From Batavia (Jakarta) to Bandung, the area passing through is the most populous, most prosperous, and most mature area in the entire Java Island, with a population of more than 346 million, accounting for more than [-]% of the entire island's population.

Its status is equivalent to the prosperous area between Chang'an, the western capital of the Tang Empire, and Los Angeles.

at the end of January of the new year

Emperor Li Cha wore military uniform in a low-key manner, and under the protection of hundreds of armed guards, he rode in an unmarked carriage and mixed in the long carriage, heading towards Bandung.

The 120-kilometer road from Batavia to Bandung passed through 23 military checkpoints along the way. These military checkpoints were all built at intersections, bridges and the necessary roads to enter towns, restricting the movement of ordinary people.

On the road from Bandung to Yogyakarta, Surabaya, and Bali, there are various military checkpoints. The large military fortresses stationed a company, and the small ones stationed a platoon or squad.

Such military deployment cut the entire Java Island into countless fragments, strictly prohibited the free movement of people, the dissemination of news, and the circulation of goods.

All the required materials were delivered to the cities by the Chinese caravans allowed by the military, and then distributed by the governments of the cities, purchased and transported back by the Chinese businessmen in the towns and towns, and sold locally.

It can be said that commercial development in the strict sense is out of the question. Everything must be subordinated to the overall situation of stabilizing Java Island society.

Under this kind of strict military control, even if turmoil occurs, it is only a small area or town, and it is easy to send troops to wipe it out.

along the way
Everywhere you can see prisoners in hard labor camps working, some are building high-standard reinforced concrete bridges, some are building roads, railways, dams and reservoirs, farmland water conservancy facilities, some are building houses, and some are cutting down forest trees , to reclaim wasteland.

After a year and a half of preparation, the main railway line from Batavia to Bali has entered the stage of large-scale construction.

This main railway line, which traverses the entire East-West of Java Island, is designed to be 1221 kilometers in length, two-way and two-lane, and 174 bridges, three tunnels with a total length of 1876 meters, 89 water culverts and railway interchanges, 46 platforms and others will be built along the way. The total investment in auxiliary facilities is estimated to be 855 million yuan.

The railway is expected to be completed in seven years, and no less than 30 laborers will be employed to open mountains, cut roads, and build bridges when encountering water. More than 600 engineering teams will work on the entire line during the peak period of construction.With so many bridges and water culverts along the railway line, it is impossible to build one and then the next, and the time spent like that is far away.

The so-called start of construction across the board means that all 174 bridges must be completed within 7 years. For bridges with greater construction difficulties, construction teams need to be formed early.

Early stage of construction
There are more than 200 construction teams for bridges, culverts and tunnels alone, and construction teams responsible for the main body of the railway subgrade basically need to be set up every ten kilometers.

Because the earthwork of the main body of the railway embankment is very large and requires a lot of coolies, this kind of task can only fall on the labor camp.

In inaccessible mountainous areas, construction roads need to be built in advance, and heavy steel components and equipment must be transported on people's shoulders, which requires a lot of labor and time.

For example, tractors need to be disassembled into parts, carried into the mountains one by one by manpower, and then assembled for construction.

The same is true for the tunnels. The three tunnels require six engineering teams to dig face to face. At present, the construction conditions are relatively simple, and they can only be gnawed down by labor.

currently

The railway project has invested more than 355 construction teams, with a total of 14.6 hard labor camp labor, to fully promote the main railway project.

When the next few years enter the construction climax, more labor input will be required.

For the 1221-kilometer main railway project, every construction team needs access roads and logistics camps to support it. This is not a matter of three or two days.

rough estimate
A total of more than 3500 kilometers of construction roads will be built, and planting areas will be opened around the construction team to plant some necessary cabbage, potatoes, radishes and other vegetables to minimize expenses.

For the ballast laid on the main railway line alone, it is necessary to build more than 40 quarries along the railway line, one every 30-40 kilometers.

The gravel is mined nearby and used nearby.

The amount of crushed stone and ballast laid on the railway is very large. It is often tens of thousands of tons used on the compacted railway foundation cushion, and the cost will rise sharply when the distance is long.

Generally, about 260 to 350 tons of crushed stone ballast is used per kilometer of railway, and tens of thousands of tons are needed for 35 kilometers. This is a very astonishing figure in an era that mainly relies on animal power for transportation.

Sitting on the carriage, Emperor Richard simply looked at the number of indigenous labor levies. On Java Island alone, the number had reached 87 at the beginning of the year.

After all, so many construction projects require manpower, and a larger scale is justifiable.

This is the throes of forced national integration. North America, Mexico, Luzon, Cuba and Colombia have all experienced it. Now it is the turn of the East Indies.

He put it aside without comment. These trivial matters don't need His Majesty the Emperor to ask in person, just follow the empire's consistent colonial policy.

The purpose of looking through these reports is only to understand the relevant progress. In the end, these confidential materials will be destroyed after the construction of the project is completed, and the originals will not be kept.

The investment in the entire 1200-kilometer-long railway line is only 855 million Tang yuan, which is mainly used for engineering materials and imported equipment.The massive use of convict labor saves huge costs, and the input of human costs is very little.

The railway sleepers and crushed stone ballast are mined on site, the areas where the railway passes are requisitioned free of charge, and the planning of farmland and villages within the scope of the railway line requires only a small cost.

Together, these favorable conditions reduced the total investment by more than half.

This is the early days of colonization, and it was able to be enforced under the high-pressure situation of military control.If placed in any peaceful period, it is enough to cause mass riots on a large scale.

near dusk
Emperor Richard was sitting in the carriage and could already see the outline of the city of Bandung from a distance. This is a beautiful city located in a vast valley plain with an average altitude of 715 meters and an average annual temperature of 23 degrees. It is famous for its beautiful scenery. World.

Bandung is the second largest city in the East Indies after Batavia, with an urban population of about 41.6. It is also a city with a relatively high proportion of Chinese.

before the war
Bandung's Chinese population accounts for more than one-fifth of the entire city. In the surrounding mountains, there are many tea gardens run by Chinese, as well as cinchona plantations that have special effects in treating tropical dysentery, all of which are local specialties.

The ace 101 Dahe Division, which belongs to the Second Corps of the Royal Guards, is stationed here. Thousands of retired officers and soldiers of this division are distributed in Bandung City and surrounding towns.

By October this year, a new batch of about 10 officers and soldiers will be retired, and they will also be resettled in Bandung City and surrounding towns.

Various departments of the Bandung City Government, judiciary, civil affairs and police agencies are full of veterans. The 101st Division Veterans Club was established next to the Bandung City Council in a two-story Dutch palace-style building.

To say that Bandung City is the site of the 101st Division, most people would agree.

at sunset

Emperor Li Cha's long carriage team and escorting cavalry finally arrived at the temporary palace. After a long day's journey, the officers and soldiers were busy supplementing the horses with concentrated feed, nutrition and water.

To complete the 120-kilometer journey in one day, there are careful arrangements in advance.

A group of 38 horse-drawn carriages replaced all the tired horses in Ninim Town, 63 kilometers away from Jakarta, and replaced them with strong horses that had been waiting here for a long time to recharge their batteries.

The mounts of the cavalry guards were not changed, but they were replenished with water, black beans, and 6 raw eggs for each horse in Ninim Town, and rested for more than two hours.

Under such circumstances, the 120-kilometer long-distance trek was completed, and only a few dozen horses left behind and arrived one after another before dark.

The cavalry of the Royal Guards used Jinjiang horses specially bred in Paradise Province. This tropical horse is resistant to high temperatures and humid environments.

However, the Jinjiang horse is a light horse with a small body. Its carrying capacity, endurance and physical strength are not as good as those of the warm-blooded horse, and its endurance is far inferior to that of the Mongolian horse.

Trekking 120 kilometers a day, almost reached the limit.

The officers and soldiers of the Royal Guards felt sorry for the horses after completing the escort mission.Then he took the horses to the river to drink water, cleaned them, and replenished them with grass and concentrated feed. They kept busy until dark.

Although everyone is tired and hungry, the cavalry always take care of their combat partners and horses first, and then take the time to fill their stomachs.