The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 378 Guizhou
Just as many travelers knew that they were not far from the mainland of Hanzhou when they saw the towering lighthouse on Xiaomen Island (now Bathurst Island in northern Australia).

When ships crossing the Indian Ocean see the tall statue of Mazu on Shejun Island (Rottnest Island, 18 kilometers northwest of Perth) from afar, they can't help but breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that Guizhou is within reach.

Well, the reason why this narrow island is called Shejun Island is because there are a lot of wallabies on the island. The rat is Shejun.

On August 1736, 8, the "Treasure Fleet" from Qianzhou sailed into the mouth of the Gui River (today's E River) and arrived at the territory of Guizhou shortly after passing Shejun Island.

The fleet arrived a full month later than expected, causing many eagerly awaited relatives and cargo owners to become extremely anxious.

There was no other choice but the escorting naval warships and several merchant ships were temporarily "requisitioned" by the Hailing Governor-General's District to teach the daring French a lesson.

After taking control of the French Bourbon Island, they helped the Governor-General of Hailing to transport nearly a thousand armed militiamen to the French Tamatave stronghold, where they landed in front of the French, and then made their way to Antananarivo, the capital of the Kingdom of Merina.

Aren't you French going to interfere in the civil war in the Kingdom of Merina?
Then we, the people of Qi, will send troops in a high-profile manner to "interfere" in the internal affairs of the kingdom, and kill the separatist forces of Melina that you have supported in front of you, giving you a severe slap in the face.

After dealing with these "trivial matters", the naval escort formation continued to perform its routine task of escorting the "treasure fleet".

In fact, compared to escorting the "Treasure Fleet", naval officers and soldiers seemed to prefer doing those "trivial things".

The French on Bourbon Island had been operating coffee plantations for more than 20 years and had saved a lot of money, allowing the naval officers and armed militiamen who were responsible for hunting down pirates to make a small fortune.

That's right, our heroic navy of the Great Qi State successfully captured a group of vicious "pirates" on the island, and also wiped out the French who were harboring the "pirates". With so much "conclusive evidence" on display, the colonial authorities, including the Governor of the French Bourbon Island, Labourdonnais, were "speechless" and allowed the navy of the Great Qi State to deal with the "pirates".

Therefore, all the property looted by the "pirates" and the property of those who harbored them were confiscated and used to "compensate" the "people" harmed by the pirates.

In view of the fact that there are still a large number of "pirates" at large on Bourbon Island, the armed soldiers of Qi State who have landed on the island will continue to stay on the island until all the "remnant pirates" are completely captured, and then they will withdraw from the island.

Under such circumstances, Bourbon Island was placed under martial law by the Qi people. Not only was there no way to continue maintaining the coffee plantation economy, but even the freedom of hundreds of French residents on the island was deprived in disguise, and they were under constant surveillance and control by the Qi garrison.

Leaving the bustling west coast of the Indian Ocean and coming to the rich and civilized Hanzhou continent, no matter whether you were born or lived here, everyone seems very excited and their expressions become as pious as if they were on a pilgrimage.

The natives will proudly and loudly explain to you everything you see, showing off their unique status.

The "foreigners" from Qianzhou or other overseas colonial territories looked at everything in front of them greedily with a bit of reverence, curiosity and pride, preparing to tell their families and neighbors all about it when they returned home.

Some foreigners, with mixed feelings, looked at the slowly approaching Hanzhou continent, feeling envy, yearning, and even a hint of fear.

This is the richest and most powerful country in the world today. It is their core homeland, with extremely strong industrial productivity, endless wealth flowing everywhere, and it is also the source of world science and technology.

In fact, after entering the mouth of the River Kwai, the fleet did not actually reach the city of Guizhou. Instead, after passing Linjiang City (now Fremantle, south of Perth, Australia) at the mouth of the river, it had to go up the river for nearly 20 kilometers before reaching its destination.

After more than 80 years of development, with Guizhou as the core, numerous towns and villages have been built around it. It is the most densely populated, economically developed, and most prosperous place in science, education, and culture in the southwest of Hanzhou.

According to the 1730 census data, Guizhou has become the fifth megacity in Hanzhou with a population of over , which is more than , an increase of more than half compared with years ago. Moreover, with the continued prosperity of Indian Ocean trade, the local suitable climate and environment, and the growing number of jobs, the population growth rate has not slowed down at all.

Guizhou seems to be a city born for wealth.

In the fifth year of the Hanxing reign (1675), a large number of gold mines were discovered in the southwest region, attracting countless gold diggers, making this remote southwestern town prosperous immediately. In just over ten years, Guizhou developed into a large city with a population of over , and subsequently established a series of industrial factories and mines, becoming the largest economic center on the west coast of the Indian Ocean.

At the same time, with the vigorous advancement of the domestic industrial revolution, many heavy industries such as steel, coal, and machinery manufacturing have flourished, resulting in an increasing demand for iron ore in the western region.

As an important node for ore transportation, Guizhou soon became the southwest shipping center and logistics distribution center, further promoting the rapid development of the local economy and population.

The gold rush in the southwest had not yet subsided, and news of a gold mine came from Qianzhou.

Although the gold rush in Qianzhou once caused a large outflow of population from Guizhou, it attracted a large influx of wealth. As the closest big city to Qianzhou, those lucky gold rushers naturally chose Guizhou as their home when they returned to their homeland of Hanzhou. It also stimulated strong local consumer demand, and subsequently attracted more immigrants from Hanzhou and overseas.

In order to smelt the gold mined in the southwest, the government built a large gold refinery in Guizhou to refine the raw gold into standard gold bars or bricks, which were then transported by train to the gold markets in Daxing and Jianye for trading. After the rise of diamond mines in Guizhou, Guizhou became the main processing center for diamonds in Guizhou with its convenient geographical location and advanced cutting technology.

Diamond cutting may seem like a simple handicraft, but in fact it is a high-tech processing technology that combines precision equipment and exquisite craftsmanship.

During this period, when it comes to the advancement and manufacturing level of precision equipment, Qi is naturally the first choice.

In order to better enhance the value of diamonds, the people of Qi developed a series of certification standards based on cutting technology and diamond appearance, making diamonds produced in Guizhou a symbol of wealth and status, and Guizhou also became the world's highest level gem cutting and processing center.

Here are gathered gemstone materials from all over the world, including white jade from the Western Regions, ruby ​​​​and jadeite from Myanmar, sapphire from Ceylon, diamonds and colorful gemstones from India, and diamonds from Qianzhou and Brazil.

It can be said that the gemstone processing industry has become one of the most important pillar industries in Guizhou, with more than tens of thousands of related practitioners. In addition, a number of world-renowned luxury jewelry brands have emerged in Guizhou, such as "Juzhenzhai", "Qingyuanlou", "Deyuanfang", "Jinshifang", etc., which have become the target pursued by the rich in Qi and even the world.

Naturally, corresponding to this is the fact that Guizhou University has extremely high attainments in many fields such as geology, mining, materials science, chemistry, optics, precision manufacturing, and jewelry design at the domestic academic level, which has attracted countless students in Qi and around the world who are interested in the above-mentioned majors to apply or enroll.

Guizhou, as an important industrial city in the southwest of China, naturally does not only rely on the two unique industries of gold refining and gemstone processing to support the development of the entire city.

Like other industrial cities in Hanzhou, Guizhou has heavy industries ranging from steel manufacturing, coal chemical industry, machinery production, cement forging, to light industries such as hardware products, leather, grain, brewing, wool textiles, soap (perfumed soap), perfume, etc., covering almost most of the domestic industrial chains. It not only provides production and living materials for more than three million people in the southwest region, but also effectively supports the market demand of African colonial territories such as Qianzhou and Hailing.

As an overseas colonial territory, industries that compete with the local ones are generally prohibited or restricted from development. This makes most of the industrial product demand in Qianzhou and Hailing areas extremely dependent on the local ones. Guizhou has taken on this responsibility well and provided solid and effective material support for Qi's vigorous colonization on the east coast of Africa.

"I remember that more than a decade ago, there didn't seem to be so many black swans on the surface of the River Kwai."

After Dimeo van der Horst, senior director of the Dutch East India Company's Hanzhou business, and Jan Driessen, the company's Hanzhou southwest director, landed at Guizhou Port, they did not have to wait too long in the VIP room before employees of the East India Company's Guizhou trading station sent two luxurious carriages to take them, their families, and a large amount of luggage, and then drove straight to where they were staying.

On both sides of the flat and straight road are tall and beautiful buildings. The colorful banners and store signs are dazzling. Citizens are strolling in front of one shop after another. Street vendors are moving around with bamboo baskets and boxes of goods, shouting loudly from time to time. Uniformed patrolmen are holding batons and patrolling the streets with majestic looks.

There are many horse-drawn carriages on the road, including government-operated public carriages and rail carriages, as well as luxurious private carriages owned by nobles and wealthy businessmen. Even more are freight carriages that travel between factories and shops in the city.

Oh, and there are steam locomotives that are breathing heavily and making loud roars, speeding past on fixed tracks.

The East India Company's trading post in Guizhou was located in a block facing the river. When looking sideways, one could see flocks of black swans swimming gracefully on the river, attracting many citizens to watch from the riverside. Some even bought steamed buns or bread, tore them into pieces and threw them into the river to feed them.

"Oh, five years ago, the Guizhou municipal authorities issued a protection order prohibiting citizens from arbitrarily killing these beautiful black swans." Helminthje Drens, manager of the East India Company's station in Guizhou, turned his head to glance at the river bank, then smiled and replied, "The people of Qi are really quite... philanthropic! In this world, there are still tens of thousands of people in war and violence, facing the threat of death at any time, but the people of Qi have to issue a decree specifically to protect a bird."

"Drens, this just shows that the people of Qi are becoming the embodiment of world justice." Dehorst laughed and joked, "They will definitely tell everyone, look, we will protect even a bird, so they will definitely protect the whole world and all of humanity. We are the defenders of world order and security!"

"Mr. DeHorst, when the people of Qi hear what you said, I don't know whether they should be proud of it or ashamed." Drens laughed along with the people in the carriage, and then handed him several newspapers of the day.

"Oh, it's really embarrassing!" De Horst took the newspaper and flipped through it casually, then said self-deprecatingly: "Although, before coming to Hanzhou, I have hired a professional Chinese teacher for training, but unfortunately, so far, I can only say a few simple greetings. As for understanding these newspapers, it is very difficult for me. Dear Drens, what important news are there in these newspapers? Well, I mean, about European affairs."

"Mr. Dehorst, there are a lot of news about European affairs..." Drence looked down at the newspaper pages for a few times, and then said, "In early June, the Russian Empire and the Ottomans fought a battle with a scale of 6 people on the right bank of the Dnieper River. After three days of fighting, both sides withdrew from the battlefield and announced victory in the battle. However, the Qi military commentator in the newspaper believed that the Ottomans were likely to suffer heavy losses in this battle, otherwise they would not have taken the initiative to retreat to the left bank of the Dnieper River. It is reported that in this battle, the Crimean Tatars, the allies of the Ottomans, did not follow the battle deployment and launched a surprise attack on the Russians from the flank for the sake of preserving their strength, so that the Russians could devote all their troops without hesitation. Yes, the Russians have an absolute advantage in manpower. If they were not afraid of the fierce artillery bombardment of the Ottomans, they might have been able to wipe out the more than Ottoman troops."

"The Russians have always fought by relying on their numerical superiority, thus drowning their opponents in a wave of bayonet charges. ... Any other news?"

"Mr. Dehorst, I think there is a piece of news in the newspaper that should attract the attention of our East India Company and even the United Provinces Republic." Derens said with a serious expression, "Not only today's newspapers, but also some days ago, many newspapers in Guizhou have been reporting in detail the accidental death of a Qi envoy in French Saint-Domingue last November. The deceased Qi envoy was promoted as a loyal and brave overseas colonial official. When he visited the French with the peaceful wishes of the Qi people, he was shamefully assassinated."

"Many politicians and commentators pointed out sharply that the French should be held fully responsible for the death of the innocent envoy, and even suspected that the incident was planned and implemented by the French colonial authorities in Saint-Domingue. I don't know much about other places in Hanzhou, but the people of Qi in Guizhou City and the entire southwest region are quite angry. They complained that the government did not take a tough stance against the French and watched their people being killed by the French. Oh, God, it can be said that after the continuous propaganda in the newspapers, the people of Qi have erupted in strong dissatisfaction with France, and there are calls to condemn the atrocities of the French everywhere."

"Why is something that happened in November last year suddenly being hyped up again more than half a year later? Could it be that the people of Qi..."

"Yes, Mr. Dehorst, we all have a hunch that the Qi people may launch a military strike against France." Drence's face was full of anxiety. "Ten years ago (1725), before the outbreak of the Qi-British War, a similar atmosphere of public opinion also appeared in Hanzhou. So, we guess that the Qi people may provoke a new war again."

(End of this chapter)