Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 369 Development Report in June 1871

The last memorial was a report on population and social development in the first half of 1871. It was a bulky document two or three fingers thick, which was left in the imperial study for careful reading.

Report completed

Secretary-General Li Jinghui saluted respectfully, took a few steps back, and then turned around and left quietly.

Although King Zheng Guohui of Chu always looked kind, this was just an appearance.

With the rapid expansion of the kingdom in recent years, it has been triumphant all the way, and its royal prestige has been growing. The invisible imperial pressure is revealed in every gesture.

A slight snort or a frown would make the ministers around him feel suffocating pressure.

Two bronze Taotie incense burners emit the unique fragrance of ambergris, which is refreshing and can keep the brain exceptionally clear, leaving a long aftertaste.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu sat behind the imperial desk, opened the thick semi-annual report, and read it attentively.

As of the end of June 1871
The main islands, outer islands and border islands belonging to the Chu State have a total population of more than 1377 million people, including children who have reached the age of 6 in the past two years and are registered as new population.

This part alone totaled 83.37 people in the past two years, all of whom were new population born in the country. As the baby boom grows in size, this number will continue to grow in the future.

The population has soared from over 800 million two years ago to 1377.6 million today. This is the result of the combined efforts of foreign immigrants and new local population, and has also led to a sharp increase in the strength of the Chu State.

In terms of population distribution
The northernmost Hainan Islands are home to nearly half of the country's population, with Metro Manila and its surrounding prefectures and counties being the most densely populated and the most industrially developed region.

By the end of June 1871, Manila's urban population had broken through the 6, 67 and 70 mark successively, based on the 80 population two years earlier. The city's total population reached 90, achieving a rapid growth of 91.27% for two consecutive years.

The achievements of economic prosperity and development are reflected in the appearance of the city, with high-rise buildings rising from the ground one after another, and six- or seven-story classical-style buildings appearing in an endless stream, and the scale of the city continues to expand outward.

The first power plant of the Chu State was born in Manila, and subsequently many city power plants were built one after another, bringing light to the Longshouyuan area where the powerful gathered, and also illuminating the Manila Royal City buildings with a profound historical heritage.

Statistics as of the end of June
The five urban steam power plants that have emerged in Manila can drive more than 5 light bulbs to shine at night, lighting up the city at night and making it even more beautiful and charming.

As a new thing, light bulbs are currently a luxury consumer product. The life of each light bulb is around tens to 100 hours. If you turn on the light for 4 hours every night, you will have to replace the light bulb every month.

The power plant charges according to the light bulb, charging 1 yuan per light bulb per month. Additional fees are required for pulling light wires and replacing electric guns.

每晚供电从6:30到10:30，共持续4个小时。

These families who are willing to try new things are generally relatively wealthy, with a living standard above that of the urban middle class, and can afford the corresponding costs.

If we take an ordinary family as an example, with three light bulbs per household, the monthly electricity bill would be 4.5 silver dollars. Adding the cost of replacing the light bulbs, it would be at least 7 to 8 silver dollars per month.

There is no need for a light switch. The light will turn on when the power is turned on and will turn off naturally when the power is turned off.

As the most active country in introducing Western technology in the entire Nanyang region and even the entire Asia, new inventions in Europe and the United States, such as electric lights and steam plows, machining lathes, locomotives and other new gadgets, will soon be established in the territory of Chu.

As the largest city in the Chu State, Manila had a total population of 91.27. It fully promoted the process of steam industrialization, and the resulting urban agglomeration effect was obvious, making Manila stand out.

A large amount of Chinese capital from Southeast Asia has been invested in the industry and commerce in the Greater Manila area. New factories are being built and new businesses are being registered every day.

This has made the industrial and commercial development in the Greater Manila area like a galloping bull, running all the way under the encouragement of sufficient social funds, and with great development momentum.

The prosperity and development of Manila has also greatly influenced and led the development of surrounding prefectures and counties, forming a significant agglomeration effect of wealth and industrial development.

The second largest city of the Chu State was Batangas, which also belonged to the outer prefectures of Metro Manila. At the end of June 1871, the city’s total population reached 6. It was a typical industrial city.

The development of the city is accompanied by the deterioration of the environment. The endless chimneys along the coast spew out thick black smoke day and night, blocking the bright sunlight.

This makes the entire city of Batangas look gray, and the scattered tall buildings are all shrouded in thick smog. Only after a heavy rain will they shine with their eye-catching majestic appearance.

The Batangas Industrial Zone is located on the bayside. The thick black smoke emitted by the chimneys is blown away by the sea breeze. Coupled with sufficient sunlight, the city's smog is not serious.

Batangas now has three steel mills and two copper smelters, as well as a series of heavy industrial backbone enterprises such as rolling mills, machinery plants, steam engine plants, shipyards, and petrochemical plants. There are as many as 10 industrial enterprises with more than 1135 employees in the city, directly creating nearly 20 jobs.

Among the many cities in the country, Batangas has the strongest development momentum and the fastest population growth rate.

The city's population will exceed 70, ranging from 72 to 73, firmly securing its position as the second largest city in the country.

Industrial cities have a significant population siphoning effect, which agricultural cities cannot even begin to catch up with, and the differences are becoming increasingly apparent.

In addition to the two cities mentioned above, Cavite, ranked fifth largest city in the country, and Angeles, ranked tenth largest city in the country, are both cities surrounding the Greater Manila area.

Jiamidi was the textile industry center of the Chu State. There were more than a dozen textile mills and woolen mills of various sizes around it, as well as a large number of printing and dyeing factories, printing and dyeing workshops, weaving factories, garment factories, sail rope and tarpaulin factories, etc. The city had a total population of 42.2. It was a city with developed light industry and ranked fifth among domestic cities.

The textile factories in Cavite mainly use Indian cotton and Australian wool as raw materials. Indian cotton is spun into yarn here, then sent to weaving factories to be woven into cloth of different textures, and then sent to printing and dyeing factories to be printed with patterns before being sent to the market for sale.

They can also be processed into military uniforms, suits or denim work clothes in garment factories and sold in garment stores across the country or for export.

When Australian wool arrives here, it is processed into combed and carded tops in woolen mills, and the value of the goods increases several times, so they can be shipped to Europe at a better price.

Some Australian wool was consumed locally and could be blended with cotton yarn to make woolen cloth. In addition to meeting the internal needs of the Chu State, it could also be exported in large quantities to the northern China.

Angeles, the tenth largest city in the Chu State, made its fortune through the tobacco industry. In recent years, it has not only sold its products domestically and in Southeast Asia, but has also opened up the European market.

Angeles's geographical climate is very suitable for the development of the tobacco industry. Driven by market demand, large tracts of tobacco fields have emerged. Tobacco is widely planted throughout the city and its four subordinate counties, accounting for more than 70% of the sown area.

It is precisely because of the advantages of tobacco resources that Angeles has developed dozens of cigarette factories, producing countless brands of cigarettes. It is a region that has developed rapidly thanks to the cigarette industry.

The subsequent development of corrugated paper mills, various paper mills, and printing plants enriched the local economy of Angeles City.

Statistics at the end of June 1871
The local urban population of Angeles Prefecture is 297102, close to the 30 mark, and is also the last of the top ten cities in the Chu State.

One trick is fresh, eat all over the sky.

The development of Angeles City is a good example of this. Thanks to its tobacco industry, it has become one of the top ten cities in the country.

The above four cities

The total population exceeded 240 million. Together with more than ten other prefectures in the Hainan Islands, the total population of the entire Hainan Islands reached more than 589 million, accounting for about % of the total population of the Chu State.

The second most populous island is the Tongzhou Islands (Note: formerly Mindanao Island), with a total population of more than 333 million in its six prefectures and counties, and its largest city is Davao.

Davao ranks third in the Chu city sequence, with a population of 6 at the end of June. It was surpassed by Batangas last year, and the gap between the two is now widening.

Davao was the heavy industrial center in the south of the Chu State. Jinsha County under its jurisdiction had the earliest steel plant of Nanyang Heavy Industries. After years of development, its annual steel production capacity reached more than 80 tons and its copper smelting capacity reached more than 7.2 tons.

As the earliest heavy industrial center, Jinsha County has developed a series of industrial enterprises centered on the steel industry and has the richest mineral resources in the country, which gives it great potential for the development of heavy industry.

If it weren’t for the successive establishment of several large-scale industrial backbone enterprises in Batangas, including the popular oil refinery, the supporting facilities of Jinsha County’s industrial enterprises would be no less complete than those of Batangas Province.

Davao is also one of the regions with developed shipbuilding industry in Chu State. It has more than 30 shipyards of various sizes, which can build iron cargo ships with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons, as well as wooden fishing boats of dozens or hundreds of tons. The supporting facilities are quite complete.

Using the blueprints of a 12-ton cargo ship from a British shipyard, Royal Lumina Petroleum Corporation placed an order for a second batch of 8 -ton crude oil cargo ships, eight of which were built in three local shipyards in Davao Province.

This is from one side

This reflects the strength of Davao's shipbuilding industry. Backed by the Nanyang Heavy Industries Steel Plant with sufficient production capacity, the local shipbuilding industry has developed quite smoothly, and its overall scale ranks first in the country.

It is precisely because of these strong industrial sectors and the gradually developing light industry that Davao Province is able to still occupy the third place in the rapidly developing urban competition in the country.

Instead of being quickly overtaken by some industrial cities like Zamboanga City.

Competition among cities in Chu is very fierce, and many emerging cities are rising very quickly. This has caused some old cities to feel a strong sense of crisis, forcing them to speed up their development.

To put it bluntly, it's like being chased by a dog. If you run a little slower or lose focus, you will be overtaken by others.

(End of this chapter)