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Chapter 1081 Colombo is Calamba
"Go and take him to the palace. First, arrange for him to have a bath and food. Then notify the General Staff and the Naval Staff to come and see me."

Jin Gui went to do something very dangerous, and the chance of him coming back was less than 50%. I did worry about him a lot over the years, but now that I heard the good news, I am not anxious anymore.

Because this matter is very big, not only does it involve the overall layout of the empire, but it will also affect the pattern of Europe. In terms of grand strategy, one day more or one day less will not make any difference, and I haven't figured out whether I should do it or how to do it. The specific details need more people to participate and discuss together.

“The ship carrying construction equipment from the Marine Transport Corporation arrived in early May, and the project is progressing smoothly except for a hurricane.

After receiving the two ships of grain, the Kingdom of Kandy sent 1000 laborers to help transport wood from the mountainous areas as agreed. With the preliminary preparations by the Navy Statistics Department, the communication between the two sides was relatively smooth, and no friction of any kind has occurred so far.

In fact, the Sinhalese believe in Buddhism, advocate peace, and have a relatively closed society. They are able to be self-sufficient in the mountains. Apart from salt fields and fishing villages, they rarely set foot in coastal areas.

According to estimates by the Shipping Department and the Ministry of Construction, as long as the extreme weather does not exceed expectations, the city wall and permanent fortifications will be basically completed by the end of the year. The dock will not be put into use until next spring, and the warehouse may take a little longer, but no later than the end of next year. "

"Your Majesty, the navy has sent the first ship of muskets to the port of Hormuz, which was handed over by the Danish East India Company to Imam Guri Khan in Bandar Abbas. The process was relatively smooth.

Now the second ship of muskets and a small number of artillery should have departed from the port of Shalian. According to the plan, six land warfare captains will accompany it to serve as instructors to train the Persian army.

But until the most recent communication ship came back, there was still no statement from the Persian king. All contacts stopped at Guoli Khan, and the trained troops also belonged to the ethnic group in Bandar Abbas.

Before coming here, the Navy General Staff was evaluating whether the third ship of weapons would be delivered on schedule. If the intelligence sent back by the Navy Statistics Department still shows no progress, we plan to suspend the delivery and let the Danes talk to Guo Lihan, and start a formal dialogue with the Persian high-level officials as soon as possible. "

The General Staff and the Navy Staff were working outside the Meridian Gate. Astronaut, Tan Mingming, Zhu Haiou and others came very quickly. They didn't know why they were suddenly summoned to the palace. They thought the emperor was concerned about the construction of Colombo Port and the progress of military aid to Persia. Without waiting for any questions, Tan Mingming and Zhu Haiou took the initiative to report.

"We can be more flexible in dealing with the Kandy Dynasty. Since they are devout Buddhists, we should cater to their preferences and build a temple and cast a few Buddha statues in their capital or other suitable locations. It must be the most majestic and grand place on the island of Ceylon.

Sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood. The breakthrough point is to have good relations with their religious figures. In the future, they can use their status and influence to get closer to the top leaders of the Kandy Kingdom.

For a long time, the Colombo Naval Base will be the frontier of the empire's westward development, and security and stability must be ensured, and the key to this is the Kingdom of Kandy.

We must never make the same mistake the Portuguese made. We must not only make use of the natives, but also always consider them, do good for them sincerely, and build Ceylon as if it were our home.

Things like new schools, clinics, farm tools, pesticides, bridge and road construction can all be done when you have free time. Don't be stingy with money when you can hire locals, and don't make too high demands. As long as they are willing to help and earn money, it's a good sign. "Before Jin Gui comes, it's better to talk about other things first. After listening to the report, Hong Tao immediately had something to say. The navy seemed to have reversed the importance, focusing too much on military assistance to Persia and ignoring the consolidation of Colombo City and even Ceylon Island.

Although the lease term is 99 years, this port city has actually been included in the reserve of the empire's territory, and ranks quite high.

It is relatively easy to occupy a place, as long as the army is strong, it can be done in minutes. But it is much more difficult to rule a region for a long time. You must start from little by little, step by step, and make continuous efforts for many years before you can see results.

"…Should we wait until we destroy the Kingdom of Jaffna in the north before making plans together?"

The astronauts had something to say about the emperor's suggestion. Construction needed to be planned ahead of time to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The general staff did not forget about the construction of Ceylon, but had other plans.

Currently, the areas that the Kingdom of Kandy can control are only the central and southern parts of Ceylon Island. There is also a mutually hostile Jaffna Kingdom to the north, and the Portuguese forces have not been completely driven out. It seems a bit hasty to start infrastructure construction and assimilation work immediately.

"Don't worry about the Portuguese. They won't be in the Asian waters for much longer. Ceylon needs to be unified, and there's no need to wait for construction. Start with Colombo as the center and radiate inland.

In the future, the largest city on this island will be Colombo. It will not only be a large naval base, but also an economic center in the Indian Ocean and a transit station for shipping between East and West Asia.

Convey my intention to the Ministry of Construction and the Shipping Department, and ask them to take the city's functions and future growth into consideration when designing and constructing, and leave enough redundancy!"

However, Hong Tao disagreed with the General Staff's planning and positioning of Ceylon Island. They only considered the issue from the military perspective and did not take into account the future economic development. If you want to rule a region well, you must not only have a big fist but also be able to make money, so that your subordinates will be willing to follow you.

Ceylon has a tropical monsoon climate, and natural conditions allow for the development of some high-value-added planting industries, such as rubber, cocoa and tea.

But if you want to transform low mountains into terraces and build drainage and irrigation facilities, you can't do it without continuous investment for ten or eight years. So you can't expect agriculture to be successful in the short term. Being self-sufficient is a great victory.

The island's natural resources are not bad, especially gems and pearls, which are not only of high quality but also in large quantities. But it is not very realistic to rely on selling gems and pearls to feed the island's million people. The only thing that could work quickly is the shipping industry, not shipbuilding but docking cargo ships.

It is no exaggeration to say that Ceylon's geographical location is unique. With current navigation technology and equipment, it is not impossible to sail thousands of miles at any time, but that is mostly done by military ships and exploration ships. Civilian ships that want to carry out long-distance trade must plan for stopovers and supply ports along the way.

(End of this chapter)